Rodri completes €60m move from Manchester City to Barcelona, signs four-year deal
Rodrigo Hernández has completed his transfer from Manchester City to Barcelona, signing a four-year contract after undergoing a medical on Tuesday and committing to the Catalan club until 30 June 2030. The Spain midfielder arrived at Barcelona’s El Prat airport on Monday evening before travelling to the club’s Joan Despí training ground.
When Flight PTN27B began its descent into El Prat a little before 8pm on Monday, a small crowd waited by the terminal doors and many tracked the aircraft on their phones; the Pilatus PC-24 had become the most tracked plane in the two-hour trip from Manchester after taking off at 5.11pm, 101 minutes behind schedule. Five days earlier Rodri had been filmed at Barajas airport in Madrid, wheeling a small RFEF case and boarding a Ryanair flight back to Manchester; this time he arrived on a private jet with his family and his flight landed 70 minutes behind schedule.
Barcelona’s third offer was accepted: €60m up front plus a further €15m in add-ons, €11m of which are described as virtually guaranteed, and Rodri will earn around €15m a year, an increase on his salary at City. 'Barcelona and Manchester City have reached an agreement for Rodri, who is committing to the Catalan club until 30 June 2030,' the club said, adding that the 30-year-old is 'considered one of the best players in the world in his position', and 'stands out for his tactical intelligence, composure on the ball, ability to regain possession and precision in his passing'.
Rodri was named the best player of the World Cup after Spain’s triumph this summer and is the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner. He spent seven seasons at the Etihad Stadium, winning the Premier League four times and scoring the winner in the 2023 Champions League final against Internazionale, having joined Manchester City from Atlético Madrid in July 2019 and entered the final year of his contract.
In a message to Manchester City fans Rodri wrote: 'I found that saying goodbye is one of the most difficult things in life but I am going to try. I knew I came into a top team but I never thought we could be able to create the legacy we made – winning trophies, fans around the world, love and respect.' He added: 'We made an example to inspire the next generations not only because the success, also because the way we did it,' and concluded: 'This journey couldn’t be the same without you, my heart will always be blue.' Rodri told reporters on arrival in Barcelona: 'Playing for Barcelona is a dream come true for me.' He later said, 'I’m happy to be here.' They had been “intense days” Rodri said, but now it was done.
Negotiations had involved other suitors and shifting signals from Real Madrid; Rodri said he had three offers after the World Cup — Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Real — and ruled PSG out because he wanted a return to Spain. Real were reported to have grown increasingly convinced he was their target, a narrative summed up by one headline: “Rodri is next”, and Enrique Riquelme had previously pledged the midfielder as a signing during Real’s presidential campaign. On the day Real announced Vinícius Júnior’s renewal and the signing of Yan Diomande they also briefed that Rodri was not coming.
Several voices weighed in on the transfer’s significance: Jorge Valdano said, “Rodri’s deal is worth €35m for what it gives Barcelona and €40m for what it takes away from Madrid,” adding, “At Real Madrid he would have revolutionised their play and improved everything.” A “perfect computer”, Luis de la Fuente called him, and Rodri said, “I always try to learn from Busquets.”
Rodri completed his medical at Barcelona’s Joan Despí training ground on Tuesday and signed the contract, while Manchester City’s new manager Enzo Maresca faces a race to rebuild his midfield after Rodri’s departure and the exit of Bernardo Silva; Tijjani Reijnders is reported poised to join Al Qadsiah, Newcastle have been linked with Nico González, City have signed Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and been linked with Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi and Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.