Rodri has told Real Madrid he wants Barcelona, and City are still holding out for more
His agent put the decision on the record. The fee is the only part of this transfer nobody has settled.
Aug 8, 2026
Rodri has told Real Madrid he is not coming. That part is settled, and his agent said it out loud. What is not settled is the bit that actually moves him to Barcelona, because Manchester City still want more money than Barcelona have offered.
Nobody has signed anything. Neither club has confirmed a deal. But the direction of this one changed sharply in the space of about 48 hours, and it went the way almost nobody predicted a fortnight ago.
The gap between the bid and the price
Barcelona’s opening offer was 45 million euros with add-ons on top, and City turned it down. City’s asking price has been reported at 65 million euros, and earlier in the window they were said to be holding out for 80.
Where it stands now depends on which side of the story you read. The Catalan radio station RAC1 reported on Friday that the clubs had agreed a fee of around 50 million euros, that paperwork was being exchanged, and that Rodri would land in Barcelona on 12 August on a four-year contract. Other reporting on Friday, sourced to the Spanish paper SPORT and to Fabrizio Romano, had City rejecting Barcelona’s offer outright and holding out for a higher figure.
Both can be true a day apart, which is how the last week of a big transfer usually reads. The safe summary is that the player is decided, the clubs are close, and the fee is the only thing left to argue about.
How Madrid lost him
Real Madrid had been talking to Rodri’s representatives since July and looked like the obvious destination. They offered around 40 million euros, which his camp read as a club that was not especially bothered. There was also the question of whether Jose Mourinho, appointed in June, had ever really wanted the signing.
Rodri’s agent Pablo Barquero put the decision on the record. “Out of respect for Madrid, as they have been class, Rodri informed them that his decision is to join Barca,” he said.
A 2024 Ballon d’Or winner choosing Barcelona over Madrid, and saying so publicly while the fee is still being haggled over, is not a small thing. Madrid are reportedly willing to make one more attempt. On the evidence of the last week, they are attempting it against a player who has already made his mind up.
Why Barcelona want him now
Frenkie de Jong’s injury opened the hole. Hansi Flick rang Rodri to explain how he would use him, and Barcelona moved from interested to leading the race almost immediately.
The football logic is easy. Barcelona won La Liga last season playing a high line that lives or dies on whether the space in front of the defence is controlled. Rodri has spent seven years at City being as good as anyone alive at exactly that job.
The caution is his body. He is 30, he tore his ACL in September 2024, and he has had minor back surgery since. Barcelona would be buying a player who has not had a clean two years, on a long contract, at an age where those things tend not to improve. Set against that, City selling a Ballon d’Or winner with 11 months left on his deal for 50 or 65 million tells you they have done the same arithmetic.
What happens next
If RAC1 are right, Rodri is in Catalonia on Wednesday, timed with the Spain internationals returning from the World Cup. If the English version is closer, there are a few more days of clubs briefing numbers at each other first.
Either way the deadline is doing the work now. The window shuts on 1 September and Barcelona still have a squad to register. City, for their part, have already spent a British record 116 million pounds on Elliot Anderson this summer, so the midfield is covered whichever way the fee lands. Nobody in this has an incentive to let it run.