Manchester City have rejected Barcelona's opening offer for Rodri, although various sources have confirmed to ESPN that talks between the clubs will continue in the coming days with the aim of reaching an agreement.
Manchester City are open to selling midfielder Rodri but would demand more than £60m for the Spain captain. The Spanish champions offered €45m (£38.7m) for Spain’s World Cup-winning captain, which City do not deem a serious price for the Ballon d’Or winner. Sources have told ESPN that City are aware of Rodri's desire to return to Spain, but will not sanction a cut-price deal. Club bosses have not ruled out allowing Rodri to leave because they do not want to keep an unhappy player.
The Spain international had been in negotiations with Real Madrid for weeks, but Barcelona entered the race in earnest on Thursday after reaching an agreement with the player with the remaining hurdle being convincing City to agree to letting their star midfielder leave the club. Madrid have not been entirely ruled out, but sources suggest to ESPN that the player's priority is to continue his career at Barcelona.
Cadena Ser add that Real Madrid were informed of Rodri's decision on Friday and chose to end the process in order to avoid prolonging uncertainty, while thanking the player for the respectful way the negotiations were conducted. BBC sources say talks with Real Madrid have ended.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner has got one year left on his current deal and would potentially be a free agent next summer. The 30-year-old is entering the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and has yet to sign a new deal, with speculation continuing over his future this summer.