Maresca: Man City will "try to find the new Rodri" after Spain captain's move to Barcelona
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca said on 22 August 2026 that City will "try to find the new Rodri" after Spain captain Rodri left the club earlier this week to join La Liga champions Barcelona. The comment followed Rodri's move from City to Barcelona, with the midfielder signing a four-year contract after Barca agreed to pay a fee in the region of £65m.
Rodri, 30, spent seven seasons at the Etihad Stadium, played nearly 300 games for City and won major honours including four Premier League titles and the 2024 Ballon d'Or. He scored the only goal in the 2023 Champions League final and led Spain to a World Cup triumph during the summer. City were in the final 12 months of his contract, and despite offering him an extension, talks did not yield a result.
Asked how the club would cope, Maresca said: "How do we solve that problem?" and added: "We try to find the new Rodri, it is what it is." He reflected on the impact Rodri had at City, saying: "[Before] Rodri arrived here, he didn't win the Ballon d'Or, he didn't win the Champions League, he didn't win the Club World Cup. He joined the club then he achieved many important things."
Maresca put the transfer in the context of previous departures and arrivals at City, listing a succession of players who left and were followed by new signings. "I was thinking on Thursday night, when David Silva was here, everyone was worried and Kevin [De Bruyne] arrived. When Sergio [Aguero] was here, everyone was worried [when he was going to leave] and Erling [Haaland] arrived. Fernandinho? Rodri arrived. "When they leave, you need to be good in recruiting the next one. They are all similar, David, Kevin, Fernandinho, Rodri, Erling - there is one more - it is normal, it is change, it is not a problem, go again and try to do the right things."
City have been active in the transfer window, having signed England international midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a club record £115m fee. The club remain in advanced talks to sign Lille's Moroccan Ayyoub Bouaddi and, BBC Sport has been told, have not given up hope of signing Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez; there is also reported interest in Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister.
Maresca addressed the timing and tone of transfer activity, saying clubs often wait until close to the deadline and that departures can affect planning. "I think it's a feeling for most of the clubs, not all of the clubs because some clubs probably prefer to do the business at the beginning or at the end of the previous season. "I think we are almost in the same situation as all of the clubs. There are 10 days to go, hopefully we can do the things that we need to do. "It doesn't help that there are players that for different reasons want to leave, that is for sure, but we need to adapt and also we don't want to keep players here who don't want to stay, for sure. "Probably the normal thing in the transfer window is that you have to wait until the last week, because all the clubs try to keep players until the last week and then sell for more money. It's normal."
Meanwhile, Tottenham have agreed a £75m fee to sign Brazilian winger Savinho and are also in talks to acquire City team-mate Omar Marmoush. With 10 days remaining in the transfer window, Maresca said the club hope to conclude the business they need to complete: "hopefully we can do the things that we need to do."
