Manchester City Reject Barcelona's Rodri Bid Amid Transfer Saga
Manchester City have turned down a £38.5m offer from Barcelona for Rodri, drawing a firm line in a transfer saga that has shifted sharply over the past 48 hours.
City are prepared to cash in on the 30-year-old, but only on their terms. Those terms are clear: it will take in excess of £60m for the Premier League champions to even consider letting their midfield metronome leave the Etihad in the final year of his contract.
From Madrid-bound to Barça priority
For months, the expectation around Europe was simple: if Rodri left Manchester, he would walk into Real Madrid’s midfield. That path has now closed. BBC sources say talks with Real have ended, leaving Barcelona out in front.
The Catalan club moved quickly once they received the player’s approval to open negotiations with City, with an offer lodged on Friday. It was rejected just as quickly.
Inside Barça, there had been quiet warnings that nothing was guaranteed, that their financial reality might yet drag the deal back to earth. Now the tone has shifted. The club are in active, ongoing conversations with Rodri’s representatives and have already tested City’s resolve with that first bid. The situation is moving, and both sides know it.
A world’s best in limbo
This is not a fringe player being eased out. Rodri is the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, crowned after driving Spain to a second World Cup triumph in the summer and taking home the player of the tournament award.
His club season told a different story. A serious knee injury wrecked much of his 2024-25 campaign, and a hamstring problem disrupted the one before. Even so, when the stage was at its biggest, he dominated again for his country.
Right now, he is recovering from back surgery undergone last month. He is expected to rejoin his City team-mates in Manchester early next week, walking back into a dressing room that still doesn’t know whether he will be at the heart of their midfield when the season settles into its stride.
City’s clock is ticking
The calendar adds pressure. As the window edges towards its second week of August, City cannot afford to drift. If Rodri goes, they need a replacement of genuine stature, and they need him fast.
Their primary target is already on the board: 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille. The talent is obvious, the potential enormous, but Lille’s £86m asking price is a major obstacle. Talks continue, yet that figure hangs over negotiations like a storm cloud.
So City juggle two delicate fronts at once. One, extracting maximum value for a Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder entering the final year of his deal. Two, trying to land a teenager who could shape their next era without being drawn into a fee that even they consider excessive.
Barcelona, for their part, know exactly what Rodri would represent: a ready-made anchor, a leader, a player who can define a team’s identity from the centre circle. They also know City are not in the habit of selling cheaply.
The first bid has been swatted away. The next move, and the next number, will reveal just how badly Barça want him – and how ready City are to rip up the blueprint of their midfield and start again.
