Rodri set to join Barcelona from Manchester City in €76.5 million deal

Rodri has touched down in Barcelona, bringing one of the summer’s longest-running transfer sagas to a close. The Spanish midfielder is set to complete his medical and sign a four-year deal with FC Barcelona after Manchester City accepted a third and final bid valued at €76.5 million, roughly $87.8 million. The deal that took three tries Barcelona’s pursuit of Rodri was anything but smooth. The club submitted two earlier bids during the transfer window, both of which Manchester City rejected. The third offer, accepted on August 16, is structured with an upfront payment of approximately €60 million and additional performance-related bonuses that bring the total package to €76.5 million (£65.3 million). Rodri is expected to be presented at Spotify Camp Nou ahead of the Joan Gamper Trophy match, the traditional preseason curtain-raiser that Barcelona uses to introduce new signings to their fanbase. What Manchester City loses City have navigated departures of key players before. They lost Raheem Sterling, they moved on from Ilkay Gundogan, and they rebuilt. But replacing a Ballon d’Or-winning holding midfielder who also captained Spain to a World Cup victory is a different category of p...