Barcelona have reached an agreement to acquire Spain captain Rodri from Manchester City for approximately £65 million.
The 30-year-old, who clinched the Ballon d’Or in 2024, is poised to finalize a four-year contract with the Spanish champions.
The completion of the transfer is anticipated in the upcoming days.
Rodri played 298 matches over seven successful seasons at City after arriving from Atlético Madrid in 2019 for a club record £62.8m at that time.
He was sidelined for a large portion of the 2024-25 season due to a significant knee injury, and segments of the previous season were affected by a hamstring problem.
Nevertheless, he returned to his peak form during the World Cup in the summer, guiding Spain to their second championship and earning the title of player of the tournament.
Rodri departs from City with 12 major trophies to his name, which comprise four Premier League championships, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups, and the Champions League during the 2022-23 season.
Last week, City turned down Barcelona’s initial bid of £38.5m for Rodri, who was poised to enter the last year of his contract at Etihad Stadium.
It seemed that Real Madrid would be his next stop, but La Liga rival Barcelona intensified their attempts to finalize the transfer in recent days.
Following City’s loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, new manager Enzo Maresca remarked: “Rodri is a player who recently won the World Cup and Ballon d’Or.”
“He’s a top player; all the teams need a Rodri, so it’s not about if we miss Rodri or not.”
