Barcelona's Pursuit of Rodri: City Eye Enzo Move
Barcelona have made their move. Again.
The Catalan club have now sent a third bid to Manchester City for Rodri, underlining just how determined they are to land the Spain international midfielder this summer. After two rejections, Barça have pushed their fixed offer up to 70 million euros.
They started the talks far lower, opening at around 45 million euros, then edging close to 65 million. Each time, City said no. This time, at Camp Nou, there is a growing feeling that the answer could finally be yes.
Inside Barcelona, optimism is creeping towards expectation. The belief is that an agreement could be sealed before the weekend is out. The mood in Manchester is not far off that either: both clubs now anticipate that negotiations are heading towards a deal, not a collapse.
If City do cash in on Rodri, the move will do more than reshape their midfield. It would ease pressure under Financial Fair Play and free up room to bring in a replacement. That is where Enzo comes in.
Enzo Fernández remains the name at the top of City’s list to fill the gap at the Etihad. The deadline Chelsea had set around his situation has come and gone, but the saga is still alive. The clock stopped; the story did not.
New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, who knows Enzo well from their time together at Chelsea, laid down his position on Friday. City, he made clear, will not be dragged into Chelsea’s timing games or boxed in by arbitrary cut-offs.
Chelsea’s response has been just as firm. The London club want everyone to remember one thing: Enzo is under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2032, and they intend to act like a club in full control of that asset. They see themselves as holding all the cards.
So City wait. First for Rodri, then for Enzo.
According to Fabrizio Romano, City’s hierarchy have stayed in constant contact with Enzo’s representatives over recent days, keeping the lines warm while the Rodri talks play out. The interest has not cooled. It has simply been parked until the first domino falls.
The landscape of the deal has shifted slightly. The essence has not. City still want Enzo. But they are no longer negotiating with the same Chelsea that, as of Friday, had effectively opened a door for his departure under specific conditions that looked almost like a de facto release clause.
That door is no longer wide open. It is bolted, chained, and guarded by a club determined to extract maximum value.
Now the calculation at the Etihad is brutally simple: once Rodri’s future is decided, how far are Manchester City prepared to go? How much are they willing to pay to force open Stamford Bridge and bring the Argentine to Manchester?
