Why Barcelona’s Rodri Tunnel Vision Could Do More Harm Than Good

After two rejected bids for Manchester City midfielder Rodri, Barcelona have reportedly made a third offer in the region of $81 million (£60 million) for the 30-year-old.

Many fans throughout Catalonia were already celebrating the arrival of Rodri after the newly crowned World Cup winner abandoned his Real Madrid plans for the defending Spanish champions. Yet transfer business is almost never straightforward at Barcelona.

The club, which is believed to have already agreed to personal terms with Rodri, saw a $52 million (£38.5 million) bid and a $69.3 million (£51.3 million) offer rebuffed by City. Recent reports claim the English side values the Golden Ball winner at $94.5 million (£70 million).

Desperate to get a deal over the line, MARCA report Barcelona have now submitted a third bid, with a total package worth up to $81 million (£60 million). It is still short of City’s rumored valuation, but the increased offer has both sides believing an “agreement is closer.”

Mundo Deportivo adds Barcelona are “certain” they will sign Rodri this summer, with a deal set be finalized “no later than next week.”

Enzo Maresca Weighs in on Rodri’s Future

While both clubs go back-and-forth at the negotiation table, Rodri has joined up with City ahead of their battle with reigning English champions Arsenal in Sunday’s Community Shield. The Spaniard reunited with his teammates, both old and new, and caught up with his new manager Enzo Maresca.

The former Chelsea boss was asked about Rodri’s situation and remained as coy as ever in his response. “The transfer window is open, we can buy and sell players,” Maresca said.

“Anything can happen. I just saw Rodri now in the building, I gave him a big hug. He looks good. Let’s see what happens.”

The Cityzens were previously linked with Maresca’s old favorite Enzo Fernández as a potential replacement for Rodri. Chelsea reportedly instituted a hard deadline for any offers for the Argentine midfielder, and the date came and went without any action from City.

The English side already broke the bank to sign Elliot Anderson this summer, and remain linked with Morocco breakout star Ayyoub Bouaddi. Maresca also has Nico González, Mateo Kovačić and Tijjani Reijnders in his ranks, though the latter is expected to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah.

Getting by without Rodri will still be anything but easy. In the last nine years, the only season City failed to claim a trophy was 2024–25, the campaign for which Rodri was sidelined with an ACL injury.

Are Barcelona Focused on the Wrong Signing?

Barcelona came into the summer transfer window fairly set in the midfield department. Hansi Flick has a loaded engine room, featuring Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Marc Bernal, Marc Casadó, Dani Olmo and Eric García, along with youngsters Tommy Marqués and Xavi Espart.

Yet De Jong’s recent knee injury threw the club into action. Suddenly, the defending Spanish champions were all in on hijacking Rodri from Real Madrid—and they successfully got the Madrid-born midfielder to choose the Camp Nou over the Bernabéu.

Barcelona have spent the weeks after the 2026 World Cup working to sign Rodri, all while bigger problems have gone unattended. The Catalans still do not have a striker to replace Robert Lewandowski and now Ferran Torres, who joined Paris Saint-Germain.

They have made little progress trying to pry Julián Alvarez from Atlético Madrid and now are scrambling for an alternative. The team also could benefit from a center back signing, having still failed to replace Iñigo Martínez since he left last summer. Ronald Araújo also joined Liverpool on a season-long loan.

Yet the club’s entire focus has been on signing Rodri. It’s no question the Spaniard will elevate an already lethal squad, but there are bigger problems to solve at Barcelona and less and less time to do so.

Add us as a preferred source on Google