Barcelona's Bid for Rodri Rejected by Manchester City

Barcelona have made their move for Rodri. Manchester City have barely blinked.

An opening bid of £38.6million for the midfielder has been rejected out of hand, with City making it clear they value the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner at closer to £68.5m. The gap is not a minor one; it is wide enough that City do not even see a basis for serious negotiations yet.

From Barcelona’s side, this is only the first shot. The Catalan club are expected to return with a second offer for the former Atletico Madrid anchor, who has just one year left on his contract at the Etihad. They see him as the cornerstone of their next midfield, the man to steady a team that has lost Frenkie De Jong to a long-term knee injury.

Rodri’s preference is no secret. The World Cup winner is understood to favour a move to Barcelona over any other destination, even with Real Madrid hovering in the background. Madrid had been increasingly confident of striking a deal while City navigate a summer of upheaval following Pep Guardiola’s departure. Then Barça entered the room and changed the tone of the conversation.

The 30-year-old has spoken before about a desire to return to La Liga at some stage in his career. With Guardiola gone and City reshaping both on and off the pitch, that moment now feels close. He is keen to move on this summer, and the Spanish giants are circling.

There is, however, a physical caveat. Rodri underwent minor back surgery after the World Cup and has been sidelined in recent weeks. City expect him to return before the end of the month, a timeline Barcelona are watching closely as they line him up as De Jong’s replacement.

They need one. De Jong tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in July and is expected to miss the start of the 2026/27 season. For a club built on control in midfield, losing the Dutchman for such a stretch has forced a recalibration of priorities. Rodri, with his blend of authority, positional discipline and big-game pedigree, fits the profile almost too perfectly.

City, for their part, are not behaving like a club desperate to sell. They have already moved to reinforce their midfield, paying £116m to bring Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. They are also heavily linked with Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, who caught the eye for Morocco at the World Cup and is being tracked as another piece in a retooled engine room.

So the lines are drawn. Barcelona want Rodri to anchor a new era at Camp Nou. Real Madrid remain in the wings, waiting to see if the price or the politics shift. City insist on full value for a player who has defined their dominance in recent years.

The next bid from Barcelona will tell everyone how serious they really are.