Manchester City Rejects £55m Barcelona Bid for Rodri

Manchester City have pushed back again. Barcelona returned with an improved £55m offer for Rodri – and City have rejected it.

The Spanish giants had already seen an opening proposal of around £40m knocked back last week. They came back stronger, as expected, raising the bid into the bracket City had been warned about: between £50m and £60m. Still not enough.

City value their 30-year-old midfield anchor at upwards of £60m, even with Rodri now into the final year of his contract. Talks between the clubs remain active, but the message from Manchester is clear: Barcelona will have to go higher if they want to prise away Spain’s World Cup-winning captain.

For City, Rodri is not on the market. The club’s stance all summer has been to keep him and tie him down to a new deal. They see him as central to their plans and have been working toward an extension rather than an exit.

There is, however, one caveat. If Rodri himself asks to leave, City will not block the move. Until that happens, they are negotiating from a position of strength.

Reijnders talks with Al Qadsiah add to midfield intrigue

While Barcelona circle around Rodri, City are deep in another major midfield negotiation.

The Premier League champions are in advanced, positive talks with Saudi Arabian side Al Qadsiah over the sale of Tijjani Reijnders. The proposed package is worth around £51.3m (€60m), reflecting how highly the Saudi club rate the Dutch midfielder.

Al Qadsiah view Reijnders as a world-class player at his peak and want him as a cornerstone of their midfield ahead of their first Asian Champions League campaign. The timing is significant: the club are also preparing to move into their new Aramco Stadium, and they want a squad to match the ambition of their new home.

If the Reijnders deal goes through and Barcelona eventually get close enough to City’s valuation of Rodri, Pep Guardiola’s side could lose two central midfielders in the same window. City are already planning for that possibility.

They are looking to bring in potentially two midfield reinforcements, with concrete interest in Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi. The recruitment team know they may have to rebuild the heart of the side on the fly.

For now, Rodri remains a City player, Reijnders edges toward the exit, and Barcelona wait to see how high they dare go. How far are City prepared to bend before their midfield era starts to be rebuilt in real time?