Rodri Negotiates Barcelona Move as City Talks Intensify

The clock has started ticking on Rodri’s return to work at Manchester City, but the midfielder is trying to stall the alarm.

After giving Barcelona the green light almost a week ago and agreeing personal terms, the 30-year-old Spain international is now pushing for the final piece of the deal: an agreement between the clubs. That is the only obstacle left, and it is proving stubborn.

According to SPORT, Rodri has asked City for special permission to skip training while the two sides iron out the last financial details of the transfer. His holidays officially ended on Thursday and he is due back at City’s training ground on Friday morning, yet he wants to stay on the sidelines until his future is settled.

He has already been seen at Madrid airport, boarding a flight back to England. Even so, the message from his camp is clear: he does not want to rejoin full training only to be whisked away to Barcelona days later. The priority for him now is to protect himself from unnecessary risk while the talks reach their conclusion.

If City say no, he will report as normal. The midfielder is prepared to respect the club’s decision and train while negotiations continue in the background. The relationship between Rodri, City and Barcelona remains calm and respectful, with no sign of a public stand-off.

What has changed is the distance between the two clubs’ positions. The financial gap is shrinking, with sources close to the talks describing the remaining difference as “increasingly small”. Rodri’s stance has not moved: he wants Barcelona, and he wants the move wrapped up within days so he can fly straight to Catalonia and start working under Hansi Flick.

Barcelona have been here before. Ferran Torres was granted permission to delay his return while his move to Paris Saint-Germain was completed, and the Catalan club are hoping City will show similar flexibility with Rodri. The midfielder is hoping for exactly that.

On Thursday evening, he was again spotted at Madrid airport, this time preparing to fly to Liverpool, around a 45-minute drive from Manchester. The trip could simply be practical: return to the area, collect his belongings, and be on hand if City insist he reports back in person. It underlines the delicate balance he is trying to strike — close enough to comply, distant enough to avoid unnecessary training ground risk.

For Barcelona supporters, Rodri’s potential arrival has become one of the defining stories of their summer. Bringing in a World Cup-winning, Ballon d’Or-holding midfielder at the peak of his powers would instantly raise the ceiling of Flick’s new project and reshape Barça’s midfield hierarchy.

Inside the club, the focus now sits squarely on Deco. The sporting director is working to close the final gap with City and convert Rodri’s clear desire into a signed agreement.

How Manchester City respond in the coming hours will be telling. If they order him back into training, it suggests there is still ground to cover. If they quietly allow him to stay away, it will be the clearest sign yet that one of the biggest moves of the window is almost ready to drop.