Man City Reject £55m Barcelona Bid for Rodri Amid Midfield Reshuffle
Manchester City have rejected a fresh £55m offer from Barcelona for Rodri, underlining just how hard the Spanish giants will have to push if they want to prise the midfielder out of the Etihad.
Barca saw an opening bid of around £40m knocked back last week. They returned with a significantly improved proposal, expected to land between £50m and £60m, but City again said no. The new offer, at £55m, still falls short of the Premier League champions’ valuation.
City want upwards of £60m for the 30-year-old, who has entered the final year of his contract. Talks between the clubs are ongoing, and Barcelona remain intent on making Rodri the centrepiece of their midfield rebuild as they weigh up their next move.
Inside the Etihad, the stance is clear: City do not want to sell Spain’s World Cup-winning captain. The priority is to tie him down to a new deal.
The one caveat is Rodri himself. If he formally asks to leave, City are prepared not to stand in his way, but they are not about to usher him towards the door.
For now, Barcelona keep knocking. City keep the chain on.
Reijnders talks with Al Qadsiah add to midfield intrigue
While Rodri’s future dominates the headlines, another potential departure is quietly gathering pace.
City are in advanced and positive discussions with Saudi Arabian side Al Qadsiah over the sale of Tijjani Reijnders. The deal under discussion is worth around £51.3m (€60m), a sizeable fee for a player the Saudi club view as world-class and at his peak.
Al Qadsiah, preparing for their first Asian Champions League campaign and a move into the new Aramco Stadium, see Reijnders as a cornerstone signing to anchor their midfield. They are pushing to get it done.
If Reijnders leaves and Barcelona eventually find a way to meet City’s demands for Rodri, Pep Guardiola’s midfield could lose two central pillars in a single window. City are already planning for that possibility.
The English champions are looking at bringing in up to two midfielders, with concrete interest in Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi. Those names hint at a familiar City pattern: one ready-made star, one emerging talent.
The question now is not just whether Barcelona will go high enough for Rodri, but how bold City are prepared to be in reshaping the heart of a team built on control.
