Barcelona Prepares Third Bid for Rodri, Falls Short of Manchester City’s Valuation
Barcelona plans to submit a third offer of approximately £60 million for Rodri, yet this figure still lags £10 million behind Manchester City’s valuation for the Ballon d’Or winner. This ongoing negotiation may also impact Chelsea’s pursuit of Enzo Fernandez, with Enzo Maresca advocating for the signing of the midfielder.
Manchester City expresses a willingness to grant Rodri, a long-serving club legend, the opportunity to chase his dream of playing in Spain once more, especially after his recent success at the World Cup. However, negotiations with both Barcelona and Real Madrid have left City feeling frustrated and perplexed.
Neither club has approached the £70 million valuation, and Real Madrid’s hesitance ultimately swayed Rodri towards a transfer to Camp Nou instead of the Bernabeu. Nevertheless, Barcelona has yet to present an offer that meets City’s expectations, with two prior proposals deemed significantly lower, including one labeled as “derisory.”
Simultaneously, Chelsea continues to push for Fernandez, insisting on a price tag of £120 million. While Chelsea had imposed a 5 PM deadline on Friday to spark interest in the midfielder or retain him, indications suggest that progress in negotiations has occurred. City appears poised to wait until Rodri’s future is settled, a process likely to stretch beyond Chelsea’s imposed timeline.
Barcelona are set to make a third bid of around £60m for Rodri but are still set to fall £10m short of Manchester City‘s valuation of the Ballon d’Or winner.
The deal could also influence the speed of any move for Chelsea‘s Enzo Fernandez, with Enzo Maresca pushing for the midfielder’s signature.
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City are willing to allow a long-serving club legend like Rodri to fulfil a personal aspiration of playing in Spain again after this summer’s World Cup win.
Rodri with the golden ball award at the World Cup (PA Wire)
But City, who plan to reshape their midfield, have so far been left both baffled and frustrated in negotiations with both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Neither have come anywhere close to the £70m valuation, with Real Madrid’s reticence ultimately seeing Rodri opt for Camp Nou over the Bernabeu.
That move has nevertheless seen many of the same issues, as Barcelona have made two offers well below what City want, one of them considered “derisory”.
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Those negotiations are running parallel to talks on Fernandez, where Chelsea themselves are insisting on £120m.
While the club had set a 5pm deadline on Friday for interest in the midfielder or they would keep him, the sense is currently that sufficient progress has been made in talks.
There is also an awareness that City won’t fully proceed until Rodri’s future is certain, which is likely to extend beyond Chelsea’s deadline.
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