Manchester City Reject Barcelona's £38.5m Bid for Rodri
Manchester City have turned down a £38.5m offer from Barcelona for Rodri, drawing a hard line in a transfer saga that has suddenly shifted towards Catalonia.
City are prepared to cash in on the 30-year-old, but not on the cheap. Any deal will need to clear the £60m mark, a figure that reflects both his status in the game and the awkward timing of his contract situation.
Rodri is heading into the final year of his deal at Etihad Stadium and has yet to sign an extension. That has fuelled months of speculation over his next move. For a long stretch, the path seemed to lead straight to the Bernabeu. Real Madrid were widely viewed as favourites, the natural landing spot for the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner and World Cup talisman.
That picture has changed.
Barcelona now sit in pole position. Sources told BBC Sport on Thursday that the club had secured the player’s approval to open negotiations with City, and the first formal offer followed on Friday. It was rejected, but it marked a clear escalation.
Inside the Camp Nou, the message earlier in the summer was cautious. Barca figures stressed there were no guarantees a deal could be done, mindful of their financial constraints and the scale of City’s valuation. Now the tone is different. The club say they are in active, ongoing talks with Rodri’s representatives and have already moved from interest to action.
On the other side of Spain, the door appears to have closed. BBC sources indicate that discussions with Real Madrid have ended, removing one heavyweight from the table and sharpening Barcelona’s focus.
Rodri’s Recent Journey
Rodri’s recent journey only adds intrigue.
He missed a large chunk of the 2024-25 campaign after suffering a serious knee injury, and the season before that was punctuated by hamstring trouble. For many players, that sequence would raise doubts. Rodri answered them on the biggest stage possible.
At the World Cup in the summer, he drove Spain to their second title and walked away as player of the tournament, reaffirming his status as the game’s outstanding midfield metronome. That form underpinned his Ballon d'Or triumph in 2024 and reminded Europe’s elite why he remains such a coveted figure, even with a recent injury record.
Right now, though, he is back on the treatment table. Rodri underwent back surgery last month and is currently sidelined, with plans to rejoin his City team-mates in Manchester early next week as he continues his recovery. His physical condition will sit near the top of the checklist for any club pushing to sign him, even one as eager as Barcelona.
City's Transfer Concerns
For City, the calendar is starting to bite. The transfer window is edging into its second week of August, and Pep Guardiola’s side cannot afford to drift through the final weeks without clarity. A player of Rodri’s influence cannot simply be replaced on a whim. If he goes, City need time, money and a clear target.
They have one in mind. Talks are under way with Lille over 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, a teenager widely regarded as one of the brightest young midfield prospects in Europe. Lille, though, are holding their ground with an £86m asking price that currently stands as a major obstacle.
So City find themselves caught between two negotiations: one to cash in on the man who has anchored their midfield for years, another to bring in a raw, high-ceiling successor. Barcelona, meanwhile, know they must come back with more if they want to prise Rodri away.
The opening bid has been swatted aside. The next move, from Catalonia or Manchester, will tell everyone how serious this transfer is about to become.
