Marc Cucurella 'sent a subtle message' to try to tempt Rodri into Real Madrid move

Real Madrid's Marc Cucurella has said he "sent a subtle message" asking Rodri to join him at Real Madrid this summer, before the midfielder opted to sign for rivals Barcelona.

Madrid were close to landing Rodri from Manchester City as part of their major rebuild ahead of this season, but Spain's World Cup-winning captain chose to move to Barça instead -- with Hansi Flick's side now six points clear at the top of the LaLiga table.

Both players are now with the Spain squad preparing for Saturday's Nations League game against England and Wembley, and -- speaking to Cadena SER radio -- Cucurella admitted he'd made it clear to Rodri that he'd like to have him as a teammate at the Bernabéu.

"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 signings at Madrid, joining new coach José Mourinho, but the team are facing criticism after suffering two losses already, at Real Betis and in last weekend's derby with Atlético 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 targeted Madrid's left-flank, made up of Cucurella and Vinícius Júnior, repeatedly in the derby.

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"It's good playing with Vini, but ultimately, we've barely had any training time," Cucurella 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 show Madrid's players cover less total distance than their LaLiga rivals so far this season, but Cucurella denied that that's a problem.

"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."