Manchester City Firm on Rodri Amid Barcelona's Low Offer

Manchester City have delivered their clearest message yet over Rodri’s future: he can go, but not on the cheap – and certainly not for what Barcelona first put on the table.

The European champions have long known their midfield metronome wants to go home. A return to Spain has been on Rodri’s horizon for some time, with Real Madrid initially viewed as the natural landing spot. They were the club lurking closest, the one quietly lining up a move for one of the most influential midfielders in world football.

Then Barcelona walked into the room.

The Catalan club pushed their way into the race and, crucially, convinced Rodri. Multiple outlets report that personal terms are already in place, the player having chosen Camp Nou as his next stage. On that front, the deal is ready to go.

The problem is the money.

City’s stance hardened the moment Barcelona’s opening bid arrived. An offer of €45million (£38m) landed at the Etihad – and was instantly dismissed as “derisory” by the English champions, according to TEAMtalk. From City’s perspective, it was an opening gambit that did not even warrant a serious conversation.

They want almost double that. The figure is clear: around €80million (£68.5m) for a player who has defined Pep Guardiola’s midfield in recent seasons.

City may have accepted Rodri’s desire to leave, but they are not behaving like a club resigned to losing him on someone else’s terms. In response to Barcelona’s lowball offer, they have told the 28-year-old to report back as planned and continue his recovery from minor back surgery at the club. No sulking. No exile. Back in the building, back under their control.

He will stay there until Barcelona change the tone of the negotiation with a vastly improved proposal. And City, intriguingly, are not closing off another route: a renewal.

With only a year left on his current deal, Rodri is edging towards a crossroads. City, though, are said to be open to offering him a new contract, effectively daring Barcelona to either pay up or back off. If no acceptable bid arrives, they are prepared for him to see out the final year rather than cash in for a fee they consider beneath his value.

From Barcelona’s side, the story is different but just as stubborn. Their financial problems have been pored over for years, yet they remain determined to put a new conductor at the base of their midfield. Walking away after one rejected offer is not in the plan.

Insider David Ornstein has made it clear: Barcelona will be back. He reports that City want around €75m, while the Spanish club are preparing a new offer and remain optimistic, buoyed by the fact Rodri has already agreed terms. Optimism, though, does not move a negotiating line that City believe Barcelona are still nowhere near.

For the Premier League champions, the equation is simple. They will not even begin serious talks over a sale until the numbers make sense. Until then, Rodri stays a City player in every practical sense.

Behind the scenes, the club are already working on what comes next. Fabrizio Romano reports that City are closing in on a new midfielder: Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille. Negotiations are said to be in the final stages, with an agreement between the clubs described as “very close” and talks with the player ongoing.

City expect to wrap up the Bouaddi deal soon, then turn their attention to further reinforcements. It is a familiar pattern under this regime: succession planning, not scrambling.

So the picture is clear. Rodri wants Barcelona. Barcelona want Rodri. City want full value and are prepared to keep him – and even extend him – if they do not get it.

The next bid from Camp Nou will not just test Barcelona’s finances. It will show how far they are truly willing to go to prise the heartbeat out of Guardiola’s midfield.