Manchester City are on the verge of losing Rodri after accepting a bid of approximately £65.4m from Barcelona, bringing an end to the Spain captain's seven-year spell at the Etihad Stadium. The 30-year-old is expected to put pen to paper on a four-year contract with the LaLiga champions, with the transfer set to be finalised in the coming days.
The deal marks the culmination of a lengthy pursuit by Barcelona, who saw two earlier offers rejected by City. An opening proposal of around £38.5m was dismissed as unserious, while a follow-up bid of roughly £51m was also knocked back before the Catalan club returned with a package that met City's valuation. Some reports suggest the final structure includes a €60m fixed fee plus more than €11m in achievable bonuses, taking the total value closer to €76.5m.
Rodri had entered the final year of his contract at City, and with the World Cup winner reportedly unwilling to commit to fresh terms, the club faced the prospect of losing him for nothing next summer. Real Madrid had also been mentioned as possible suitors, but Barcelona pushed hardest to secure his signature, with Rodri himself said to have expressed a desire to move to the Nou Camp.
His departure closes a decorated chapter in Manchester that began in 2019, when he arrived from Atletico Madrid for what was then a club-record fee of around £62.8m. Across 298 appearances, Rodri scored 28 goals, most memorably the winning strike in the 2023 Champions League final victory over Inter Milan, a result that sealed City's historic treble under Pep Guardiola. In total, he collected 12 major honours, including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups.
The midfielder's stock reached its peak in 2024 when he was named the world's best player, winning the Ballon d'Or. However, his following campaign was disrupted by a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season, and he was further hampered by hamstring and groin issues that restricted him to 33 appearances during Guardiola's last year in charge. He returned to top form over the summer, captaining Spain to World Cup glory and being named player of the tournament.
Rodri was notably absent from City's squad for their 3-0 Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, having been given extended time off following the World Cup and subsequent back surgery. Speaking after that match, City manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged the scale of the loss facing his side. "Rodri is a player who just won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or," Maresca said. "He's a top player, all the teams need a Rodri, so it's not about if we miss Rodri or not."
With Rodri's exit compounding the earlier departures of Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid and Tijjani Reijnders, who is closing in on a move to Al Qadsiah, City are now under pressure to reshape their midfield before the window closes. The club has already broken its transfer record this summer to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m, and is reportedly closing in on a deal for Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi, with Maresca confirming talks are ongoing. "He's still a Lille player," Maresca said of the Moroccan international. "But any new signing, any new player, for sure as soon as they arrive it's better."
City have also maintained their interest in Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, though they did not meet Chelsea's Friday deadline for offers on the Argentine, who the Blues value at £120m. Other names being considered include Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister as City search for a long-term successor to their departing captain.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport, The Guardian, Evening Standard, and The Independent.