Rodri
Champions League match between Villarreal FC and Manchester City played in Villarreal. Rodri Hernandez wins the Ballon d’Or. Tribute to Rodri at La Ceramica.
Barcelona are being urged to make a move to sign Rodri from Manchester City this summer, just to stop anyone else from getting him.
Sport provide comments from journalist David Bernabeu today. He firmly believes Barcelona should be in the picture for the Manchester City star.
World Cup showcase
Rodri was recently crowned Best Player of the Tournament at the World Cup, adding an extra award to a growing collection of personal achievements.
Having already won the Ballon D’or earlier in his career, the 30-year-old appears to be back to his best after recovering from a serious knee injury. And, after also winning the World Cup with his nation, the big transfer rumours have returned.
Bernabeu believes that Barcelona should be a part of those rumours. Why? For the simple reason of stopping everyone else signing the midfielder.
“Sometimes you have to sign a player to keep your rival from doing so. If there’s any player who can take De Jong’s starting spot, it’s Rodri,” he said.
Real Madrid links
Barcelona, though, are not the leading candidates for Rodri’s signature. That has always been Real Madrid.
It has long been established that the Spanish giants would like to sign the Manchester City midfielder. And Sport, relaying information from journalist Matteo Moretto, report that they’ve already reached an agreement with the 30-year-old over a deal.
According to the information, Florentino Pérez is now in favour of the move. Rodri is also keen to return to Spain and the fact he only has a year left on his deal could facilitate a transfer.
Luis Figo, meanwhile, is absolutely certain that Rodri is a target for Real Madrid. Whether they can do a deal with Manchester City, though, remains to be seen.
“I know the possibility of Rodri coming to Real Madrid has been commented,” Mundo Deportivo report him saying.
“I think it will be difficult, because he has a contract with Manchester City. But everyone knows that Real Madrid always want to sign the best players in the world.”
🔵🔴 David Bernabeu nos explica por qué el Barça debería fichar a Rodri
🫵 “A veces hay que fichar para que no lo haga tu rival. Si hay algún jugador que le puede quitar la titularidad a De Jong, es Rodri”, conculye el periodista pic.twitter.com/uqYz4bIBXc
— Diario SPORT (@sport) July 22, 2026