Barcelona agreed a deal to sign Spain captain Rodri from Manchester City for about £65 million (€75 million), with the transfer completed in August 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Rodri, 30, signed a four-year contract lasting until June 2030 [6, 7, 8, 9].
Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d'Or and captained Spain to their second World Cup title in summer 2026, where he earned player of the tournament honors [1, 2, 6, 7]. He made 298 appearances during seven seasons with Manchester City, winning 12 major trophies including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three League Cups, and the 2022-23 Champions League [1, 2, 4, 5].
Rodri joined Manchester City from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a then club-record fee of £62.8 million [1, 2, 4]. He missed much of the 2024-25 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and had additional hamstring and back problems the following season [1, 6, 7, 5]. In August 2026, he underwent minor back surgery shortly before completing his Barcelona move, which delayed his return to training [2, 7, 10].
Barcelona secured Rodri by beating Real Madrid after two failed bids, agreeing a fee including add-ons of about €75-76.5 million (£65.4 million) [3, 7, 11, 5, 9]. Manchester City accepted Barcelona’s final offer on August 16 after rejecting earlier bids of £38.5 million and £51 million [6, 5]. Rodri flew to Barcelona on August 17 to finalize the transfer and terms, and was officially unveiled on August 18 [7, 8, 12, 9]. On arrival, he said he was "very happy to have arrived" and called playing for Barcelona "a dream" [6]. He added, "I’m here to compete for everything, for big things like the Champions League... I’ll try to help in every way I can to achieve our objectives this season" [9].
Rodri’s transfer followed a long-term injury to Barcelona’s Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, prompting the club to strengthen its midfield options [3, 11]. He joins recent Barcelona signings Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, and Jesse Bisiwu for the 2026-27 campaign [3, 9].
Manchester City's coach Enzo Maresca said, "All the teams need Rodri; he is a top player, but City have been unable to persuade their linchpin to stay and sign a new contract" [5].
