Barcelona’s plan to sidestep paying Man City revealed as teams start big talks over Rodri transfer
Barcelona and Man City have started official talks about the exciting signing of Spain captain Rodri, even though there might still be some money owed from a previous deal. Rodri, who has one year left on his contract, was a top target for Real Madrid, and many thought this big transfer was about to happen.
But in a surprise twist, reports say Rodri told Real Madrid he didn’t want to join them and would rather move to Barcelona. The La Liga champions have admired the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner for a long time, and on Thursday night, Rodri’s agent, Pablo Barquero, told El Larguero that “his decision is to join Barca.”
Journalist Fabrizio Romano said that Rodri and Barcelona have already agreed on personal terms, and now the clubs are talking about the transfer fee. This could be one of the biggest moves of the summer.
According to AS, Rodri is expected to sign a four-year deal that will make him one of Barcelona’s highest-paid players, earning about €30 million a year.
Over the years, City and Barcelona have worked together on several transfers, including players like Yaya Toure and Eric Garcia. The most recent was back in January 2022 when Ferran Torres moved to La Liga for around £47.6 million plus extra fees. City made a good profit on Torres, who had joined them from Valencia for about £20 million and stayed only a season and a half.
At Barcelona, Torres, Spain’s World Cup hero, has scored 65 goals in 207 games. But in October, reports said that Barcelona still owed City £11 million from the transfer, according to documents showing what clubs owe each other. City ended up selling that debt to a bank to make sure they get paid before 2025.
However, the story doesn’t end there. Last month, The Athletic’s Pol Ballus reported that Barcelona might sell Torres this summer to avoid paying City more money. Torres’ contract runs until 2027, but there’s been no talk of extending it even after his World Cup success.
If Barcelona do extend Torres’ deal, they would have to pay City around £6.8 million because of a clause in the original contract, which would raise the total cost of the deal to about £62 million. Torres, who’s been busy with press in the US, is also said to have interest from Paris Saint-Germain, the European champions.