Movistar Team boss, Sebastian Unzué, confirmed that his team has signed a pre-contract with Carlos Rodriguez. His current employer, INEOS Grenadiers, wants to retain him and is seeking a way to compensate him, thus trying to thwart Movistar’s possibilities. “Nothing is defined yet,” Unzué told the British channel GCN.
The battle for the 22-year-old Rodriguez, who won a stage in this Tour de France and finished fifth overall, has been ongoing for a long time. He signed a pre-contract in 2022 to compete for Movistar starting from 2024. “That contract still exists, and that’s the reality. I can’t say more,” said Unzué, son of former coach Eusebio Unzué.
“It won’t be the end of the world if he stays with INEOS,” said the head of Movistar Team. “The plan was to have Carlos as the leader for the general classification next year, but now we’ve reached a point where we don’t know what will happen.”
1 million euro penalty
According to GCN, Unzué’s stance towards INEOS Grenadiers is understandable, as the British team would have to pay 1 million euros to Movistar if they want to keep Rodriguez in 2024. Unzué doesn’t comment specifically on this. “But everyone in the sports world knows that there are also safety clauses to protect oneself. That’s the most logical thing we could do, and we do it often.”