Barcelona Increase Bid for Rodri as City Seek Replacement
Barcelona have cranked up the pressure on Manchester City with an improved offer of around €60m (£51m) for Rodri, as the saga around the Ballon d’Or winner edges towards a decisive phase.
City knocked back Barça’s opening bid of €45m without a second thought, but the new proposal edges much closer to their internal valuation of the 30-year-old, who captained Spain to World Cup glory and has been the heartbeat of Pep Guardiola’s midfield for years.
Rodri wants Barcelona. He has made that clear. Inside City, there is an increasing acceptance that he is likely to go.
City line up Enzo Fernández as Rodri heir
With that in mind, City have turned their attention to Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández as a potential replacement, though the numbers involved are eye-watering even by their standards. Chelsea value their captain at around £120m and are standing firm, so any deal is expected to be heavily structured with add-ons to get close to that figure.
Enzo Maresca knows exactly what he would be buying. He worked with Fernández for a season and a half at Stamford Bridge before his spell ended in January, and built much of his Chelsea side around the Argentine.
The 25-year-old repaid that faith. He was central to the team that finished fourth in the Premier League, lifted the Europa Conference League in 2024-25 and then went on to win the Fifa Club World Cup last summer. Already a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, he would arrive at the Etihad with a medal collection and personality to match the responsibility of filling Rodri’s role.
If City do land Fernández, it is likely to trigger more movement in midfield. Tijjani Reijnders is viewed as a possible departure to balance both squad numbers and finances.
For Maresca, Fernández would be more than just a tactical piece. With Rodri pushing for Barcelona, City would be losing a leader in the dressing room as well as a metronome on the pitch. Fernández, now Chelsea captain, offers that same authority, coupled with a combative edge that would sharpen City’s play in the middle of the pitch.
Chelsea plan for life after Fernández
Chelsea, for their part, are not sleepwalking into the possibility of losing their captain. They are understood to have asked about Bournemouth’s Alex Scott as a potential replacement should Fernández leave. Scott, one of the Premier League’s most highly regarded young midfielders, fits the club’s model of recruiting emerging talent with resale value.
The dominoes are lined up. All that is missing is the first decisive push.
Busy window at the Etihad
City’s summer business has already been aggressive. They have paid £116m to bring Elliott Anderson in from Nottingham Forest and are closing in on Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi for around £85m, reshaping the squad in several key areas before the season has even begun.
On Wednesday, they added experience in goal, announcing the signing of Gerónimo Rulli on a two-year deal after James Trafford’s move to Leeds. The 35-year-old Argentina international returns to a club he was previously registered with in 2016-17.
“My job now is to train hard, get to know the players and staff and do everything I can,” Rulli said, outlining a simple brief in a summer of complex negotiations.
Everything now hinges on Rodri. If Barcelona’s latest bid finally cracks City’s resolve, the chain reaction could redefine midfields at three major clubs before the window closes.
