Manchester City have rejected an opening bid of £38.5 million from Barcelona for midfielder Rodri, with the English club demanding more than £60 million for the Spanish international, according to BBC Sport.
The offer was made Friday after Barcelona sources told BBC Sport on Thursday that the club had secured the player's approval to open negotiations with City. City are open to selling the 30-year-old, who enters the final year of his contract at Etihad Stadium and has yet to sign an extension. Talks with Real Madrid, who had previously been considered the frontrunner for his signature, have now ended.
According to Spanish radio network Cadena Ser, Real Madrid made Rodri an irresistible offer shortly after Spain's World Cup triumph this summer. Talks began within days of the tournament, with everyone at the club from president Florentino Perez to chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez involved in efforts to sign him. Despite positive discussions over two weeks, Rodri made the personal decision to accept another offer. Cadena Ser reported that Real Madrid were informed of his decision Friday and chose to end the process rather than prolong uncertainty, while thanking the player for the way negotiations were handled.
Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d'Or and led Spain to their second World Cup title this summer, being named player of the tournament. His path to that performance was not straightforward. He missed much of the 2024-25 season with a serious knee injury and had parts of the prior season disrupted by a hamstring problem. He is currently sidelined after undergoing back surgery last month and is scheduled to rejoin his City teammates in Manchester early next week.
Barcelona confirmed Friday they are in ongoing conversations with the player's representatives. Sources had initially told BBC Sport there were no guarantees a deal would be made, but the situation has been developing quickly.
City are also in talks to sign 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille as a potential replacement. Lille's asking price of £86 million is reported to be a sticking point in those negotiations.
With the second week of August underway, City will want to resolve Rodri's situation quickly to allow time to complete a replacement signing before the transfer window closes.
