Barcelona Agree £65m Deal for Manchester City Midfielder Rodri

Barcelona have agreed a deal worth about £65m to sign Spain captain Rodri from Manchester City, according to BBC Sport. The 30-year-old midfielder is set to sign a four-year contract with the Spanish champions, although the transfer had not yet been completed when the agreement was reported. Completion is expected in the coming days.

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The move would end Rodri's seven-season stay at Manchester City. He joined the club from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for what was then a City-record fee of £62.8m and made 298 appearances. During that period, he collected 12 major honours: four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups and the 2022-23 Champions League among them.

Rodri's recent seasons included significant injury interruptions. He missed much of the 2024-25 campaign after suffering a serious knee injury, and a hamstring problem disrupted parts of the following season. He then captained Spain to a second World Cup title this summer and was named the tournament's best player. He had previously won the Ballon d'Or in 2024.

Barcelona's successful approach followed an opening offer of £38.5m that City rejected last week. Rodri was due to enter the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium. Real Madrid had appeared to be his likely next club, but Barcelona increased their efforts in recent days and reached an agreement with City.

The agreement comes at the start of Enzo Maresca's tenure as Manchester City manager. Speaking after City's Community Shield defeat by Arsenal on Sunday, Maresca described Rodri as a top player and noted that every team needs a midfielder of his quality. City had already added England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest during the summer.

BBC Sport also reported that City retain interest in Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, even though they did not submit an offer before Chelsea's Friday deadline for interested clubs. Chelsea wanted £120m and were not thought to have received a bid. City have also explored a move for Bournemouth's Alex Scott, whose contract runs to 2028, while Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is another player of interest. Those possible moves remain unresolved, in contrast to the agreement that is now in place for Rodri to join Barcelona.