FC Barcelona has initiated talks with Manchester City midfielder Rodri in an attempt to sign him for the next season. Despite the main focus of the Catalan market being to secure a striker, the cost of opportunity to secure the Ballon d'Or and current MVP of the 2026 World Cup Final has pushed Deco to start conversations with both parties for the first time.

Real Madrid has been in talks with Manchester City for weeks to adjust the price of Rodri's transfer, but after multiple setbacks and a stalemate, Barça has pulled the lever. The current La Liga champion has taken the step to speak with the player's entourage to get to know his situation, but what's most important is that they have also contacted the citizen to find out what the price of the midfielder might be.

In a radical turn of events, as told by The Athletic, a source close to the negotiation has confirmed that they are asking about the potential conditions for a possible agreement with the player. A priori, the desire of the Madrid team is key, but the problem is that the negotiations between Real Madrid and Manchester City have been stuck since July 24, the moment they started talking about the possible transfer.

Matteo Moretto says that the white team already has an agreement with the player for days, but from within the Spanish national team, full of Barça fans, many voices are trying to redirect him towards Barcelona. In that tug-of-war where time passes without an agreement between clubs, the journalist says that Rodri is thinking about it while Barça values making a big move to get a crack and at the same time avoids letting their main rival take him.

With Julián Álvarez on the table and millions saved for a big operation, Rodri could be one of the most radical turns in the market if he finally wears blaugrana for the 26/27 season. It's impossible to define what the intention of Barça is finally if they are wasting time and energy on courting the midfielder when they have so many tasks ahead, and above all so relevant as securing a striker and solving the Ferrán Torres dilemma.

Now, if they're going for Rodri, the Madrid and Barça market will be on fire.