Rodri's future is being shaped less by Barcelona's interest than by his clear preference for Real Madrid. He has no interest in joining Barcelona if he leaves Manchester City, and Barcelona were already told that his destination of choice is Madrid after making an initial approach.

Madrid stays the priority

The line coming out of Rodri's camp is straightforward enough. He wants a return to La Liga, specifically to Real Madrid, and his comments to football365.com match that picture. "I'd like to return, yes, obviously," he said. "For me, LaLiga is where I started."

He also pointed to Madrid's pull, saying, "They (Real) have a fanbase that really goes all out for them, and for me, the Bernabeu is always incredible, a stadium that's very imposing." He added that he has one year left on his contract, which keeps the timing open but does not change the direction of travel.

Barcelona's approach came after Frenkie de Jong's injury, but the response they received was not ambiguous. Rodri's preference remains Madrid, and that makes Barcelona more of a background player than a rival destination at this stage.

City's price and Madrid's response

The fee is where this gets practical. Manchester City are asking for around €75 million, while Real Madrid hope to negotiate it closer to €60 million.

City are also intentionally delaying talks with Madrid to see whether Barcelona enter the bidding, which is a sensible move from their side even if Rodri's preference has not changed. City do not need to rush here, and their recent form, 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in their last five competitive matches, suggests they have room to manage the situation without forcing an immediate sale.

Madrid's recent form has also been strong enough to keep them in the picture as a genuine destination, with 4 wins in their last 5 competitive matches. Barcelona's uneven run, 2 wins and 3 losses in their last five, does not help their case when the player already wants Madrid.

Rodri has still been performing through the speculation. He averaged a 7.13 rating across his last five World Cup matches and played 463 minutes in that run, which underlines that the transfer noise is not masking a drop in level.

The rivalry angle matters because City seem to be using it for leverage, but the player side of this is more settled than the market side. Rodri wants Real Madrid, Barcelona know it, and City are trying to make that preference work in their favour as the fee debate continues.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 6 outlets. How we work →