Cucurella Tried to Convince Rodri to Join Real Madrid Before Midfielder Chose Barcelona

Rodri and Marc Cucurella are national teammates but now rivals on either side of El Clásico

Marc Cucurella has revealed he tried to nudge Rodri towards a move to Real Madrid this summer, before the midfielder ended up joining rivals Barcelona instead.

Madrid had been close to signing Rodri from Manchester City as part of their big summer rebuild, but Spain's World Cup winning captain opted for Barcelona instead, a side now sitting six points clear at the top of La Liga.

With both players now together in the Spain squad ahead of Saturday's Nations League clash with England at Wembley, Cucurella opened up to Cadena SER about trying to influence Rodri's decision.

"I don't really like pressuring or influencing teammates," Cucurella said. "These are personal things. It's true that I sent him a subtle message, before the news broke, saying I hoped we'd become teammates. He replied, but didn't give anything away. I'm happy for him [at Barça], though I hope he doesn't have too much success."

Cucurella was one of six new arrivals at Madrid this summer, joining alongside new head coach Jose Mourinho, but the club has faced criticism after already losing twice, away at Real Betis and in last weekend's derby against Atletico Madrid.

"We didn't finish the period before the break in the best way," Cucurella said. "It's all a process, but the important thing is to build a solid foundation... Let's see if we can find a good balance and build a strong, united group. If the season ends the way we all want it to, no one will remember the start."

Atletico repeatedly targeted Madrid's left side in the derby, where Cucurella lines up alongside Vinicius Junior. Cucurella acknowledged the two are still finding their rhythm together.

"It's good playing with Vini, but ultimately, we've barely had any training time," he said. "Connecting with me is different compared to other full-backs, but it's a process. From what I see, and with the effort he's putting in, knowing it's not his natural strength, Vinicius is really doing his part."

Statistics have also shown that Madrid's players are covering less overall distance than their La Liga rivals so far this season, something Cucurella pushed back on being a real concern.

"That stat surprised me," he said. "But we do run a lot. We're talking about these figures because we lost the derby against Atleti. If we hadn't lost, no one would be mentioning it."