Real Madrid are living with a decision that now looks like a glaring miscalculation. They passed on Rodri when they had the chance, and every big game without a true midfield conductor throws that choice back in their face.
The latest reminder came against Inter Milan. José Mourinho’s side never truly gripped the game. They ran, they broke, they threatened on the counter, but they didn’t control. Inter did.
A midfield built for chaos, not control
Mourinho’s Madrid lean heavily on transitions. Win it, spring forward, and let Vinícius, Mbappé and Bellingham do the rest in the final third. It’s a thrilling idea on paper, devastating when it works, and tailor-made for highlight reels.
But the gaps in between those attacks are killing them.
Opponents are regaining possession too easily, turning Madrid’s rushed moves into their own dangerous waves. Inter did it repeatedly, slicing through the spaces Madrid left behind. Thibaut Courtois had to step in to limit the damage, and he did, but the pattern was impossible to ignore: this is a team without a Rodri.
Madrid chose a different path. They preferred the profile of Bernardo Silva, a more attack-minded option and one Barcelona turned down. The club doubled down on what it already had: energy, running, and verticality, trusting Tchouaméni, Valverde and Camavinga to knit it all together.
None of them, though, offer what Rodri does. Not the same calm. Not the same positional authority. Not the same ability to dictate a game’s rhythm over 90 minutes.
So Madrid keep rushing attacks, keep leaving the midfield half-finished, and keep searching for a player who can turn all that talent into a coherent plan.
Makeshift ideas, unfinished solutions
Inside the club, they know the problem. Building attacks from deep remains the unfinished chapter of Mourinho’s project. There are internal ideas: Arda Güler dropping in as a playmaker, Trent Alexander-Arnold stepping into midfield zones as a hybrid solution.
They are clever tweaks, not answers.
Each of those names brings quality, but none truly replaces what Rodri would have given them: a specialist at the base, someone who can both shield the defence and set the tempo with metronomic certainty.
That is why Madrid have already started looking ahead to the winter transfer window. They cannot afford another half-season of chasing games they should be controlling.
One name has moved back to the front of the list. A player they already tried to sign in the summer. This time, the opportunity might be clearer: Martín Zubimendi.
Zubimendi’s Arsenal standstill
In England, the predictions are gathering pace. Zubimendi’s situation at Arsenal is changing, and not in his favour.
He has begun all five of Arsenal’s official matches this season from the bench. That is not a blip. It is a pattern.
The loudest signal came on the biggest stage. In the Champions League clash with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Zubimendi watched almost the entire game from the sidelines, sent on for just eight minutes at the end.
This is not new. His struggle for minutes stretches back to the end of last season. In the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, he did not feature in the 90 minutes of regulation time, only entering in extra time.
When he plays, he delivers. That has been consistent. Even so, Mikel Arteta continues to prefer other options in his role. Over time, that hierarchy weighs on a player, especially one who left Real Sociedad as a central figure and arrived in London with the expectation of being the same.
Spain proof, Madrid interest
Real Madrid have never stopped rating Zubimendi. His performances with Spain have only reinforced their view.
When Rodri suffered a serious injury, Zubimendi stepped in and ran the national team’s midfield. He did not just fill a gap; he imposed himself. He handled the responsibility in the most demanding moments: the second half of the Euro 2024 final, extra time of the 2026 World Cup final. On nights when a misplaced pass can define a career, he held his nerve.
Those games are exactly the kind of reference points that matter at the Bernabéu. Madrid are not just buying technique; they are buying a temperament for finals.
Arsenal paid 70 million euros to sign him last season and tied him down until 2030. His market value sits in a similar bracket now. That fee would allow Arsenal to recover their outlay, and for Madrid, it is not a figure that breaks their model or their wage structure.
They know they would be paying starter money for a starter’s role.
A crowded market, a clear need
Zubimendi will not be short of offers. Chelsea are strongly interested under Xabi Alonso, a coach who already wanted him when he was in the frame to take over at Real Madrid. Florentino Pérez decided against the move then.
Now the landscape has shifted.
Madrid’s failure to land Rodri has left a visible void at the heart of their project. The team can run, counter, and overwhelm, but it cannot yet suffocate elite opponents with the ball. That is the step they must take if Mourinho’s Madrid are to evolve from dangerous to dominant.
Zubimendi, restless on the Arsenal bench and proven on the international stage, sits right at the intersection of opportunity and necessity.
The question is no longer whether Madrid need a player like him.
It is whether they can afford to hesitate twice in the same position.
