Manchester City has turned down Barcelona’s latest offer for midfielder Rodri, marking the second rejection in the ongoing transfer saga. Barcelona initially submitted a bid in the region of £40m, which was declined by City. The Catalan club subsequently raised their offer to £55m, but this figure remains below Manchester City’s valuation threshold of upwards of £60m for the 30-year-old player.
City have indicated they prefer to retain Rodri and negotiate a new contract extension with the Spanish midfielder, who currently has one year remaining on his existing agreement. Nevertheless, the club has signaled they would not block the player’s departure should he formally request to leave. Barcelona continues to pursue the midfielder and is evaluating its options for a potential revised bid.
Separately, Manchester City is progressing negotiations with Saudi Arabian club Al Qadsiah regarding the sale of midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. Advanced discussions are underway for a transfer package worth approximately £51.3m. Al Qadsiah views Reijnders as a peak-age, world-class talent and is keen to bolster its midfield ahead of its inaugural Asian Champions League campaign. The club is also preparing to move into its new Aramco Stadium.
With potential departures of both Rodri and Reijnders from City’s midfield ranks, the Manchester club is actively working to strengthen the position. City maintains interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi. Chelsea has set a deadline of 5pm on Friday for City to submit a £120m bid for Fernandez, while discussions with Lille regarding Bouaddi continue without firm timeline specifications.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI