Rodri poised to join Barcelona after Manchester City accept £65.4m bid

Rodri is poised to join Barcelona after Manchester City accepted a £65.4m bid for the 30-year-old, the move reported on 16 August 2026. The World Cup winner is said to favour a return to Spain.

The midfielder had entered the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and had made it clear he wanted the opportunity to move to Barcelona, leaving City reluctant sellers with the Spanish international out of contract next summer. Manchester City had rejected Barcelona’s bid of around €60m (£51m) last week after an initial offer of €45m (£38.5m) but have now accepted the latest proposal.

Speaking after City’s 3-0 Community Shield defeat by Arsenal on Sunday, Enzo Maresca described Rodri as a "top player" and said "all the teams need Rodri", while acknowledging the club had been unable to persuade their linchpin to stay and sign a new contract. Rodri had only returned to the club on Friday after undergoing back surgery following the World Cup, and Maresca said he had given him a "big hug" when he first met up with him.

Rodri has spent seven seasons with Manchester City, winning the Premier League four times and scoring the only goal in City’s 2023 Champions League final victory over Inter. The following year he won the Ballon d'Or, but by the time he was presented with the trophy he was sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out of most of the 2024-25 campaign. Hamstring and groin problems then limited him to 33 appearances in Pep Guardiola’s final season in charge.

City have already carried out major midfield changes this summer, spending £116m on Elliot Anderson and agreeing a deal to sell Tijjani Reijnders to Al Qadsiah. They are now ready to move for Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi; the teenager impressed at the World Cup and Lille had initially sought any transfer to include a 12-month loan back to the French side. With City losing Bernardo Silva and now Rodri, Maresca is keen to bulk up his midfield options for the new campaign and wants Bouaddi available for this season.

Manchester City have also been linked with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández and retain an interest in the midfielder.

With City’s acceptance of the £65.4m offer, Rodri looks set to complete a transfer to Barcelona and City are pursuing midfield reinforcements, including a deal to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi.