Barcelona has made significant progress in its efforts to sign Manchester City midfielder Rodri, after he was on his way to joining Real Madrid this summer.
Spanish former striker Fernando Morientes believes that Real Madrid did not want to sign Rodri, the Ballon d'Or winner with Manchester City.
Morientes said in statements published by the Spanish newspaper "Sport": "It seems to me like a very silly joke".
He added: "We who know the ins and outs of things, and we know that Real Madrid did not really want to sign Rodri at any time".
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Morientes also doubted the reports that indicated Rodri's preference to join Barcelona over Real Madrid: "They treat us like fools when they say that Rodri rejected Real Madrid".
Morientes believes that the story is now being presented in a way that distances responsibility from Real Madrid: "They are now throwing the hot potato into the player's court, and claiming that he wanted to join Barcelona".
Morientes concluded about Florentino Perez: "If Florentino Perez wanted to sign him, this deal would not have been lost".
