Barcelona Pursues Rodri Amid City’s Enzo Plans
Barcelona have made their move. Again.
The Catalan club have now lodged a third offer with Manchester City for Rodri, underlining just how determined they are to bring the Spain international to the Camp Nou this summer.
This latest proposal lifts the guaranteed fee to 70 million euros. Barcelona first came to the table at around 45 million, then climbed to close to 65 million when City pushed back. Each rejection has only hardened their resolve.
Inside the Camp Nou offices, optimism is starting to grow. There is a genuine belief the deal could be closed this weekend, with both clubs understood to see a path towards an agreement. In Manchester, too, there is a sense that these negotiations are heading for a conclusion rather than another stalemate.
Selling Rodri would do more than reshape City’s midfield. It would ease the pressure of Financial Fair Play and open the door for a major signing in his position. That is where Enzo comes in.
The Argentine remains the leading candidate to step into the gap at the Etihad. Chelsea’s self-imposed deadline on his future has come and gone, but the saga is still very much alive.
New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, who worked with Enzo at Chelsea, drew a clear line on Friday. City, he made plain, will not be dragged into Chelsea’s timing games or forced into a corner by an artificial cut-off date.
Chelsea’s message in return is just as firm. The London club insist they control the situation, with Enzo tied down on a contract running until 2032. They want the market to understand that any move will be on their terms, not under pressure.
So City wait. The Premier League champions intend to settle the Rodri situation first before fully reigniting their push for Enzo. The hierarchy have not been idle, though. As reported by Fabrizio Romano, City executives have stayed in constant contact with the player’s agents in recent days, keeping the lines open while the Rodri talks play out.
The landscape around Enzo has not shifted in its fundamentals: City still want him. What has changed is the detail. On Friday, Chelsea briefly cracked the door open, outlining clear conditions that resembled a de facto release clause. That window has now narrowed.
If City want Enzo to anchor Maresca’s new-look midfield, they will have to decide just how far they are prepared to go to force open the doors of Stamford Bridge.
