Manchester City Reject Barcelona's Bid for Rodri

Manchester City have rejected a £38.5m opening bid from Barcelona for Rodri, laying down a marker in a transfer saga that is accelerating as the window edges towards its decisive phase.

City are prepared to cash in on the 30-year-old, but not on the cheap. The Premier League champions want in excess of £60m for a midfielder who, when fit, has been the metronome of Pep Guardiola’s side and remains one of the most influential players in world football.

Rodri is entering the final year of his contract at Etihad Stadium and has yet to agree fresh terms. That stalemate has fuelled months of speculation over his next move. For a long time, the smart money pointed towards Real Madrid. Now the picture has flipped.

Barcelona, once lurking in the background, are suddenly at the front of the queue. Sources told BBC Sport on Thursday that the Catalan club had secured the player’s approval to open negotiations with City. The first formal offer followed on Friday. It did not take long for City to respond.

The rejected bid will not be the end of it. Barca sources had initially briefed that there were no guarantees a deal would ever materialise, wary of both City’s demands and their own financial constraints. Yet the tone around the move has shifted in the past 48 hours. The club confirmed on Friday that talks with the player’s representatives are ongoing and then moved quickly with that opening proposal.

At the same time, the other major suitor has stepped away. BBC sources say discussions with Real Madrid have now ended, removing one heavyweight from the table and leaving Barcelona with a clearer run – provided they can get close to City’s valuation.

The pursuit comes at a complicated moment in Rodri’s career. The Spain international missed much of the 2024-25 campaign after a serious knee injury and also saw parts of the previous season disrupted by a hamstring problem. When he did return to full fitness, though, he reminded everyone why he sits at the top of the midfield hierarchy.

He roared back on the biggest stage of all, driving Spain to a second World Cup title in the summer and collecting both the 2024 Ballon d’Or and the player of the tournament award. That combination of tactical intelligence, physical presence and big-game temperament is exactly what makes City’s stance so firm and Barcelona’s interest so intense.

Right now, though, he is again unavailable. Rodri underwent back surgery last month and is currently sidelined, with plans in place for him to rejoin his City team-mates in Manchester early next week. His return to the training ground will coincide with a crucial stretch of the transfer window and may force all parties to accelerate decisions.

City know they cannot allow this to drift. As the market approaches its second week of August, the champions want clarity on Rodri’s future so they can move decisively for a replacement if he departs. They have already identified one high-profile target: 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille.

Talks are under way, but Lille’s £86m asking price stands as a major obstacle. City admire Bouaddi’s potential and profile, yet paying that figure for a teenager would represent a significant gamble, even for a club accustomed to operating at the top end of the market.

So the dominoes line up. Barcelona must decide how far they are willing – or able – to stretch for Rodri. City must weigh the value of cashing in now against the cost and risk of rebuilding the heart of their midfield. And Bouaddi, still at the start of his career, waits on the outcome of a negotiation that could define the next phase of both clubs’ plans.

One bid has already been swatted away. The next move, from Barcelona’s side of the board, will reveal how serious they truly are about prising City’s midfield general out of Manchester.