RMC: Man City Reject Barcelona's Third Bid, Insist on €80m Valuation for Rodri

August 16 — According to RMC Sport, Barcelona has submitted a third offer for Rodri, but it has been rejected once again by Manchester City. The Premier League club currently maintains an €80 million valuation for the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner.

Negotiations between Barcelona and Manchester City over Rodri's transfer have been ongoing for over a week. Rodri views a move to Barcelona as his top priority, even ahead of Real Madrid, and is highly eager to leave England for Camp Nou. Manchester City is aware of the player's wishes and has decided to take them into consideration.

While City initially planned to offer Rodri a contract extension, they have ultimately chosen to respect his desire to leave. However, this does not mean they are willing to lower their transfer demands. City has set Rodri's price tag at €80 million and has made it clear that they will not accept any offers below this figure.

According to previous reports fromMarca and journalist Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona's initial bid of around €50 million was immediately rejected by Manchester City. Since then, Barca sporting director Deco and City counterpart Hugo Viana have held multiple talks in an attempt to bridge the gap in transfer fees.

Barcelona subsequently improved their second offer by roughly €10 million, bringing it close to €70 million, but this still failed to convince City's management. The English club deemed the offer insufficient and continued to insist on their €80 million asking price.

Undeterred by two rejections, Barcelona submitted a third bid for Rodri. However, this latest offer was also turned down, with the Premier League side standing firm on their €80 million demand.

Barcelona's consecutive bid increases further demonstrate their strong intent to push the deal through, especially with Rodri having explicitly expressed his preference to join the Catalan giants. Negotiations between Deco and Viana are still ongoing, with the transfer fee gap remaining the primary hurdle for both clubs.

Despite Rodri's clear desire to move to Barcelona, Manchester City has shown no signs of budging on their asking price. After rejecting three consecutive bids, Barcelona must now decide whether they are willing to inch closer to City's €80 million valuation to finalize Rodri's transfer.

Much like the situation with Julián Álvarez, Rodri's transfer remains a highly complex deal.

Source: RMC Sport