Rodri Pushes for Barcelona Move as Talks with Man City Intensify
Rodri has stopped waiting quietly.
After almost a week of having personal terms agreed with Barcelona, the 30-year-old midfielder has now asked Manchester City for special permission to skip training while the two clubs try to close a deal, according to SPORT.
His message is clear: he wants Barça, and he is ready to sit tight until the clubs sort out the final numbers.
Holidays over, decision time
Rodri’s holidays officially ended on Thursday. He was due back at Manchester City’s training ground on Friday morning, returning to work under Pep Guardiola like any other pre-season.
Instead, the situation has become the clearest sign yet of his intentions.
The Spaniard has requested to remain away from training as negotiations drag on, hoping to protect himself and avoid any complications while City and Barcelona work to bridge the last financial gap in the transfer fee.
He was seen at Madrid airport on Thursday evening, boarding a flight to Liverpool – roughly 45 minutes from Manchester – a detail that underlines the tension of the moment. He is heading back towards England, but not necessarily to throw himself straight back into City’s pre-season routine.
It may simply be a practical move: return, collect his belongings, and stay on standby in case City insist he reports as normal.
If the Premier League champions reject his request, he is prepared to return to training while talks continue in the background. No strike, no public standoff – but no doubt, either, about where he wants his future.
Barcelona and City narrow the gap
On the club side, the deal is edging forward.
There is still no final agreement between Barcelona and Manchester City, but the financial distance between the two is described as “increasingly small”. The structure is there, the will is there; the last details are what separate Rodri from a move that would reshape Barça’s midfield.
Rodri’s stance has not shifted. He wants to wait for Barcelona and hopes the operation can be wrapped up in the coming days, allowing him to fly directly to Catalonia and start working under Hansi Flick without detours.
The atmosphere around the talks remains calm. Relations between Rodri, City and Barcelona are said to be good, with no public friction or leaks from any side. This is not a transfer being forced through with drama; it is being pushed with quiet, firm pressure.
A familiar scenario for Barça
Barcelona have been here before.
They recently handled a similar case with Ferran Torres, who received permission to delay his return while his move to Paris Saint-Germain was finalised. The precedent is fresh, and Rodri is hoping City will mirror that stance and grant him the same leeway.
For Barça, his arrival would be one of the marquee moves of their summer. A World Cup-winning midfielder, still at the peak of his powers, dropping into Flick’s system would immediately raise the team’s ceiling. It is the type of signing that changes a dressing room’s belief as much as it changes a starting XI.
Inside the club, all eyes are on Deco. The sporting director is working to close the gap with City and bring the saga to an end as quickly as possible. Every day that passes tightens the timeline before the new season, and every gesture from City towards Rodri – whether they call him back in or let him stay away – will be read as a clue.
Is this the calm before a record midfield signing for Barcelona, or the last stand of Manchester City’s resolve to keep their anchor? The answer may arrive the moment Rodri is either ordered back into training gear or allowed to keep waiting for the move he clearly wants.
