Barcelona seal £65.4m Rodri signing after City accept third bid for Ballon d'Or winner

Manchester City have accepted a £65.4m bid from Barcelona for Rodri, ending a protracted pursuit that saw the Spanish club’s first two offers turned down before their third matched City’s valuation for the World Cup-winning midfielder.

Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2024, had entered the final year of his contract and was reluctant to sign an extension, leaving City facing the prospect of losing him on a free transfer if they did not sell this summer. His departure brings to a close a six-year spell at the Etihad in which he scored 28 goals in 298 appearances and won 11 trophies, including four Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League — where he scored the only goal in the final against Inter Milan.

Barcelona’s opening offer of £38.4m was dismissed by City as not serious, but the LaLiga champions persisted and their third proposal met the asking price. Rodri joined City from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for what was then a club record £61m.

City now have two weeks to identify a replacement. Manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged the scale of the task after the 3-0 Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. “All teams need a player like Rodri,” he said.

The club have been linked with Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille, with the French club’s manager Davide Ancelotti confirming there have been talks over the Moroccan midfielder. Maresca was measured in his assessment: “He’s still a Lille player. But any new signing, any new player, for sure as soon as they arrive it’s better.”

City also held an interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, but did not submit an offer before Chelsea’s Friday deadline for bids on the Argentine, whom they value at £120m.

The Rodri sale comes amid significant midfield upheaval at the Etihad. City broke their transfer record earlier this summer by paying £116m for Elliot Anderson, but former captain Bernardo Silva has left for Real Madrid and Tijjani Reijnders is on the verge of joining Al Qadsiah for £51m. The net effect leaves Maresca with a considerably reshaped engine room heading into the new Premier League season.