Manchester City Reject Barcelona's Bid for Rodri
Manchester City have turned down Barcelona’s first move for Rodri, rejecting a £38.5m offer for the Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder as one of the summer’s biggest transfer stories shifts direction once more.
City are prepared to cash in on the 30-year-old, but only on their terms. The Premier League champions value him at more than £60m, a figure that reflects not just his status as the game’s outstanding holding midfielder but also the leverage of a final contract year that is rapidly ticking away at Etihad Stadium.
Rodri is into the last 12 months of his deal and has yet to commit to fresh terms. That hesitation has turned into a full-blown tug-of-war at the top of European football.
Barcelona step in as Real Madrid step away
For weeks, the smart money had Rodri heading to Real Madrid. Fresh from lifting the World Cup with Spain and the Ballon d'Or, he looked destined to join the European champions and anchor their midfield for the next phase of their dominance.
Not anymore.
Barcelona have surged to the front of the queue. Sources told BBC Sport on Thursday that the Catalan club had secured the player’s approval to open formal negotiations with City. The first bid followed swiftly on Friday – and was just as swiftly rebuffed.
Inside Barça, there had been caution. Club sources initially stressed there were no guarantees a deal could be completed, a familiar line from a board constantly juggling ambition with financial reality. Yet the tone has changed. The club say they are now in active, ongoing talks with Rodri’s representatives and have made their opening move. The pursuit is real.
On the other side of Spain, the door has quietly closed. According to BBC sources, talks with Real Madrid have now ended.
Spanish radio network Cadena Ser, who spoke directly with Rodri’s agent Pablo Barquero, report that Real made what was described as an “irresistible” proposal in the aftermath of Spain’s World Cup triumph. Negotiations began just days after the final, with Rodri’s camp impressed by the courtesy and seriousness shown by president Florentino Perez, chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez and the rest of the hierarchy.
Real, the report says, put everything on the table. Yet the midfielder has chosen a different path. Cadena Ser add that Rodri personally opted to accept another offer, with Madrid informed of his decision on Friday. The club then decided to walk away, unwilling to prolong uncertainty, and thanked the player for the way he handled the talks.
The battle for Rodri now looks like Barcelona’s to win – or City’s to shut down.
From injury setbacks to Ballon d'Or glory
Rodri’s value is not built on potential. It is built on dominance.
His 2024-25 club campaign with City never truly caught fire. A serious knee injury wiped out much of his season, while a hamstring problem had already disrupted the previous year. For most players, that sequence would have dulled their shine. Rodri responded by owning the biggest stage of all.
At the World Cup in the summer, he led Spain to their second title, dictating games with his usual blend of calm authority and ruthless efficiency. He walked away with the player of the tournament award and, later, the Ballon d'Or. In a sport obsessed with goals and flair, a holding midfielder had become the game’s central figure.
That is the player Barcelona are trying to prise away. That is the player City are in no rush to lose on the cheap.
Right now, he is not on the pitch for anyone. Rodri underwent back surgery last month and remains sidelined, but is scheduled to rejoin his City team-mates in Manchester early next week. When he walks back into the training ground, his future will be the loudest topic in the room.
City’s dilemma and the Bouaddi factor
The calendar adds pressure. As the second week of August approaches, City know they cannot let this drag on. Sell Rodri late, and they risk scrambling for a replacement with no time and every selling club smelling desperation. Keep him without a renewal, and they invite the prospect of losing a Ballon d'Or winner for nothing in a year’s time.
So they push for clarity now.
Behind the scenes, City are already working on what a post-Rodri midfield might look like. Talks are under way for 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille, a teenager seen as one of the most exciting young talents in his position. Lille, though, are holding firm. Their £86m asking price stands as a major obstacle and underlines how costly it is to shop at the very top of the market.
City’s recruitment team must judge whether to gamble big on Bouaddi, search for a different profile, or hold their ground on Rodri and force Barcelona to come closer to their valuation.
Barcelona, for their part, are used to walking this financial tightrope. They want a ready-made leader at the base of midfield, a player who can shape matches for the next three or four years and give their evolving side the stability it has lacked since the peak years of Sergio Busquets. Rodri fits that description almost too perfectly.
City have made their stance clear with the first rejection. Barcelona know they will have to come back stronger if they want to test it properly.
The Ballon d'Or winner is recovering, the window is shrinking, and Europe’s elite are circling. How long can City hold their nerve – and which side of the Clásico divide will Rodri choose to define the next chapter of his career?
