Manchester City reject £38m offer from Barcelona for Rodri and remain in talks for Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Rodri has made almost 200 appearances since joining Manchester City from Atletico Madrid in 2019 Manchester City have rejected an opening offer of £38.5m from Barcelona for midfielder Rodri. The 30-year-old enters the final year of his contract at Etihad Stadium and is yet to sign a new deal, with speculation rife about his future this summer. It looked like Real Madrid would be his next destination but La Liga rivals Barcelona are now leading the race after sources told BBC Sport on Thursday that the club had the player's approval to open negotiations with City. The offer was made on Friday. Barca sources had initially told BBC Sport there were no guarantees any deal would be made but the situation now looks to be developing. The club said on Friday they are in ongoing conversations with the player's representatives and later made their opening offer. Rodri missed much of the 2024-25 campaign after sustaining a serious knee injury, and parts of last season were disrupted by a hamstring issue. However, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner was back to his best at the World Cup in the summer, leading Spain to their second title and being named player of the tournament.