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Rodri reportedly has a major call to make over his future after receiving offers from both Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The two Spanish heavyweights are widely regarded as the biggest clubs in world football and, more often than not, can sign almost any player they want. But when both go head-to-head for a superstar, one of them is bound to miss out.

While players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and David Beckham opted for Madrid, plenty of others have found the pull of Camp Nou impossible to turn down.

Here are nine players who chose Barcelona ahead of Real Madrid, along with the reasons behind those decisions.

Neymar was first on Madrid’s radar in 2006, when he was just 13 and the club wanted to bring him into their academy. Then, in 2013, Madrid and Barcelona went into a transfer battle for him once again.

Neymar has said his choice was based on football reasons.

“I sent offers from Chelsea and Real Madrid to Santos,” Neymar’s former agent Wagner Riberio told UOL Esporte, via Goal. “The one from Barcelona went directly to the father. I wanted him to go to Madrid, I always said it.

“Economically, it was a better offer for Santos and even better for the player. But he decided to go to Barcelona because they were the team of his heart.”

Lionel Messi in white and dazzling at the Bernabeu is almost impossible to picture, isn’t it?

Yet that scenario could have become reality. Messi’s former agent Horacio Gaggioli told ESPN that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner might have joined Real Madrid during his younger days.

“Due to life circumstances, I went to live in Barcelona, and I brought him to Barca for a trial,” Gaggioli said.

“But I was about to live in Madrid. If that had happened, I would have taken him to Madrid for a trial. That’s life; those are the details. Today, Messi could have been a Real Madrid player.”

Spanish outlet Cadena COPE also reported that Florentino Perez tried on three separate occasions to take the Argentina star to Madrid, only for Messi to effectively respond with a “Thanks, but no thanks” every time.

“I never hid my move to Real Madrid was almost done… my fate changed and I arrived at Barcelona instead,” Dani Alves said in a radio interview in 2016.

That turned out to be quite a choice. In his first season at the club, Alves was part of Pep Guardiola’s famous team that won a stunning treble in 2008-09, lifting La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

The full-back then added five more league titles, two more Champions Leagues and three more Copa del Rey winner’s medals at Camp Nou across a brilliant spell at the club.

Cesc Fabregas came through the renowned La Masia academy, but left for Arsenal at 16 and went on to establish himself as one of the finest midfielders of his generation.

Although Fabregas returned to Barcelona in 2011, he later disclosed that Madrid president Ramon Calderon made a late effort to bring him to the Bernabeu.

In an interview, Fabregas said: “That you are wanted by Madrid, one of the biggest teams in history, is important.” When asked what he told Calderon, the World Cup winner admitted he did not say “no”, but instead replied, “not now”.

The Spaniard enjoyed a successful three-year stay at Barcelona, winning La Liga, the Copa Del Rey, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup.

Luis Suarez was at the height of his powers in 2014 after scoring 30 league goals for Liverpool and helping knock England out of the World Cup.

His exit from Anfield soon looked unavoidable, with Spain’s two biggest clubs competing for his signature.

“Real Madrid were very interested in me, but my dream was always to play for Barca,” Suarez said on COPE’s El Partido de las 12. “When I heard the name ‘Barcelona,’ I didn’t hesitate for a moment.”

Barcelona’s backing of Suarez after he bit Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup may well have been decisive. It is fair to say he paid that faith back.

At just 18, Gavi had already made more than 60 appearances for Barcelona and looked capable of developing into one of the best midfielders in the world, but Barca had to fend off serious competition for the Andalucian talent.

“I know that [Real] Madrid and Atletico wanted him, but when he went to Barcelona he told his parents: ‘Dad, the best [players] are here and I want to play here,’” his former coach Manuel Vasco told Marca.

“The kid was attracting interest from the big clubs from the beginning, [Real] Betis and Sevilla were the first to arrive here due to the proximity.

“Barcelona signed him in a tournament that took place in the Algarve, in which he was chosen as the best player and Barcelona took him.

“But before that, I think he was in Madrid with both teams, and they were watching him, and he was clear that, if he had to choose between the big clubs, he liked Barcelona more,” he concluded.

Samuel Eto’o was spotted by Real Madrid scouts at an academy in his native Cameroon when he was young, but he never truly got his chance in the Spanish capital.

After being moved on, Eto’o flourished at Mallorca before joining Barcelona in 2004, where he developed into one of the most feared strikers in world football.

However, after being re-elected, Florentino Perez said he wanted to buy back the player’s full rights from Mallorca and then send him on loan elsewhere. Madrid even tried to use Eto’o in a deal with Liverpool for Michael Owen before eventually conceding defeat and selling Eto’o to Barca.

“For some time I have wanted to wear the Barcelona shirt,” Eto’o said, before appearing to take a swipe at Madrid.

“But until now that hasn’t been possible because of the continual obstacles placed in my path by a club that you all know well, a club that I don’t want to return to because they never showed any faith in me.”

The Camp Nou great scored 130 goals for Barca, won three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies, and then left to join Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in 2009.

After a run of outstanding displays for Sevilla, Ivan Rakitic attracted interest from both Barcelona and Real Madrid in the summer of 2014.

He chose Barca, and that decision brought instant success as he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in his first season in Catalonia.

Madrid returned for Rakitic two years later and even used Luka Modric to try to convince his international team-mate to join the then European champions. But the Croatian rejected Madrid for a second time, which only increased his popularity among the Camp Nou supporters.

Given how well Rakitic performed for Barcelona, it is easy to believe he would also have thrived at the Bernabeu, especially alongside Modric in midfield.

English supporters may remember Andre Gomes for an injury-hit and underwhelming spell at Everton, but the midfielder was once a target for some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

His performances for Valencia drew attention from the continent’s wealthiest sides, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid all showing interest in signing him.

Barcelona, though, won that race and signed the Portugal international for €35 million in 2016.

Asked at his unveiling as a Barcelona player why he had chosen the Catalan club over Real Madrid, Gomes said: “I had to choose and I chose what I believe was the best for me to keep growing. I’m happy to come to this great team.

“When Barca came to me I didn’t have much to decide. It is a dream for me and my family. It’s an honour to wear this shirt. I am very proud. I’ve fulfilled a dream for me and my family.”