Rodri completes move to Barcelona as five recent Manchester City players join Catalan club

Rodri completed a transfer from Manchester City to Barcelona, a move reported on August 19, 2026, making him the latest Manchester City player to join the Spanish club.

Manchester City and Barcelona have conducted multiple transfers between each other over recent years, including moves completed for transfer fees and on free transfers. This article reviews five notable players who have made the switch from City to Barcelona: Ferran Torres, Eric García, Ilkay Gündoğan, Sergio Agüero and Rodri.

Ferran Torres left Manchester City for Barcelona in the January 2022 transfer window with an initial fee of €55 million after struggling with homesickness and inconsistent playing time in England. At Barcelona he was described as a hard-working member of the squad for numerous years before leaving Camp Nou to join Paris Saint-Germain and begin a new phase of his career in France.

Eric García, a product of Barcelona’s La Masia, departed Spain in 2017 to sign for Manchester City’s youth setup for £1.5 million and later made his first-team debut under Pep Guardiola. He declined a contract extension at City to return to Barcelona and completed that move in 2021 on a free transfer, establishing himself as a dependable, ball-playing defensive option.

Ilkay Gündoğan left Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer of 2023 after serving as City captain and winning the treble in 2023, during which he scored what the article describes as vital title-deciding goals. He spent one season in Spain described as a creative presence before returning to Manchester City on an emotional note to maintain his reputation at the Etihad.

Sergio Agüero spent more than a decade at Manchester City, becoming the club’s all-time leading striker and remembered for his 93:20 title-winning goal in 2012. After his City contract expired in 2021 he joined Barcelona on a free transfer to play alongside Lionel Messi, but Messi left the club the same summer and Agüero’s time at Camp Nou ended after only five matches when a cardiac arrhythmia forced him into early retirement.

Rodri arrived at Manchester City from Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2019 for a then-club-record fee of £62.8 million, with Pep Guardiola selecting him as Fernandinho’s eventual successor. Over seven years at the Etihad he developed into what the article calls the greatest defensive midfielder of his time and the unquestionable lifeblood of City’s heyday before agreeing an eventual transfer back to LaLiga with Barcelona once the final bid was approved.

Which of these transfers was the best piece of business for Barcelona? Rodri is the latest player to make the switch from Manchester City to Barcelona.