Barcelona reaches agreement to sign Rodri

Barcelona, the Spanish league champions, have reached an agreement with English club Manchester City to sign Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, a source at the Catalan club told AFP.

The 30-year-old midfielder, who was part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad in the recent tournament in North America, is set to move for approximately 75 million euros ($87 million), according to media reports.

A Barcelona source said: “A statement will be issued in the coming days, and the deal will become official.”

Rodri’s name had been linked with a move to Real Madrid after Spain’s World Cup triumph in July, but Barcelona moved decisively to sign the former Atletico Madrid star, who has played a pivotal role in City’s successes since joining the club in 2019.

The midfielder suffered injuries over the past two seasons before his standout performances for Spain, which won the World Cup for the second time in its history.

Barcelona are expected to be without Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong for several months due to injury, prompting the club to act to sign Rodri.

Rodri was a key figure in manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City lineup, helping the team win the Champions League in 2023 and four Premier League titles, adding to a haul of 12 major trophies.

Barcelona had previously seen two bids for Rodri rejected before finally reaching an agreement with City on Sunday, thereby adding the midfielder to the club’s summer signings, which include Englishman Anthony Gordon, German Karim Adeyemi, and Belgian Jassir Bencifao at Camp Nou.

Barcelona are also expected to finalize the signing of Joao Cancelo in the coming days, after the Portuguese international played for the club last season on loan from Saudi club Al Hilal.