Manchester City will have to get used to this. Every time Rodri links up with the Spanish national team over the next three months, they can expect some kind of Real Madrid angle to appear.

In fact, it's likely to be four months of Madrid links with the 29-year-old Ballon d'Or winner, given that Spain have internationals in September, October and November, and then City face Real in the Bernabeu in December.

Right now, there won't be too much concern at the Etihad, but this is a familiar playbook for Real. Identify a player they like, sniff out the hint of a contract issue, and put the wheels in motion in the media.

The unusual element here is that it feels like a lot of this started soon after Real showed a great deal of disrespect to Rodri, throwing the toys out of the pram after the

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