Barcelona are hoping to finalise a deal for Rodri in the coming days, as they seek to complete the hijack of the Manchester City man. Real Madrid had been strong favourites to sign him for the last month, but after the Catalans joined the race last week, they quickly moved into pole position, especially now that Los Blancos have accepted defeat.
Rodri has already agreed personal terms with Barcelona, and this week, a club-to-club agreement should be reached. Once that happens, he can travel to Catalonia ahead of joining Hansi Flick’s squad for the 2026-27 season and beyond, but for now at least, he remains a Man City player.
That has been hammered home by Man City head coach Enzo Maresca, who has confirmed in the last 24 hours (via MD) that Rodri is “expected in Manchester on Wednesday” to continue his recovery from his recent surgery.
Ideally, Barcelona will have a deal wrapped up before Rodri is obligated to return to Man City in the next 48 hours. They know that him going back to Manchester makes an agreement more difficult, although they are in a prime position to get everything done soon, given that they are not too far apart with the Premier League giants.
There is no doubt that Rodri will be a sensational signing for Barcelona if/when he joins. Despite already bringing in Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, it has felt like a relatively slow summer for the Catalans – likely because of their inability to close a deal for Julian Alvarez – but bringing in the 2026 World Cup Golden Ball winner would be a major statement of intent, especially given that they would have managed to prise him away from Real Madrid, who were clear favourites for much of the transfer window.