Rodri to Real Madrid or Barcelona? Man City transfer battle heats up

The future of Rodri Hernández has taken a dramatic turn as the Man City star’s transfer race heats up with the entry of FC Barcelona.

According to multiple sources and reported by The Athletic, Barcelona and Real Madrid are both looking for the Spanish midfielder. Initially, it was known that only Real Madrid was interested in the player for the summer transfer window.

According to The Athletic, Rodri finds the Barcelona project more appealing because their style of play suits him well. By joining Barcelona, he would be allowed to reunite with several of his Spanish national team colleagues, including Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Pedri, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal.

On the other hand, Rodri’s contract with Manchester City has just 12 months remaining and he seems unwilling to renew the contract. Previously, he mentioned that he would like to play in his home country again.

Speaking about the deal terms, Manchester City reportedly want €75 million (£64.3m) for the 30-year-old.

While Real Madrid do not expect personal terms to be an issue, negotiations over the transfer fee with City have not yet been finalized.

Barcelona is also exploring the deal following a serious knee ligament injury to Frenkie de Jong. However, having already spent heavily on Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, Barcelona need to sell players to free up funds and improve their financial position before they can complete the transfer.