Rodri looks set to join Barcelona after Manchester City accepted a £65.4m bid from the Spanish club.
The 30-year-old midfielder had entered the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and made clear that he wanted the opportunity to move to Barcelona. City had rejected two previous offers, including a bid of about €60m, before accepting Barcelona’s latest proposal.
City were reluctant to sell the Spain international but faced the prospect of Rodri becoming a free agent next summer.
Rodri has spent seven seasons at City, winning four Premier League titles. He scored the only goal in the 2023 Champions League final against Inter and won the Ballon d’Or the following year.
His recent seasons have been disrupted by injury. An anterior cruciate ligament injury kept him out for most of the 2024-25 campaign, while hamstring and groin problems limited him to 33 appearances in Pep Guardiola’s final season in charge.
Speaking after City’s 3-0 Community Shield defeat by Arsenal, Enzo Maresca called Rodri a “top player” and said “all the teams need Rodri”. Rodri returned to the club on Friday after undergoing back surgery following the World Cup.
City are now closing in on a move for Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi as they look to strengthen their midfield options. The club have already spent £116m on Elliot Anderson and agreed a deal to sell Tijjani Reijnders to Al Qadsiah.
