City reject Barcelona's opening offer for Rodri

Barcelona's first formal bid for Rodri has been rejected. According to Sport, the proposal was worth €45 million with a further €10m in add-ons — comfortably short of the number City have been quoting all summer.

That number is €65m, the same red line the club drew when Real Madrid made their interest known, and it has not moved. City are open to negotiating around the edges of a deal, but not to a discount driven purely by the fact that Rodri's contract expires in a year.

Barcelona have their own ceiling. Sources in Catalonia say the fixed fee will not exceed €50m under any circumstances, with variables designed to lift the total package towards €60m — a valuation they consider fair for a 30-year-old with 12 months left on his deal.

The player is not a bystander here. Rodri's standing at the Etihad has earned him a genuine say in where he goes next, and Barcelona have already agreed the framework of a four-year contract with him, having worked around a salary that makes him one of the highest earners in the squad and having seen off a renewal offer City had put in front of him.

Relations between the clubs are described as good, and Spanish reporting expects both sides to keep talking across the weekend. If it closes, Rodri could be in Barcelona inside a week. If it does not, City will have a captain-in-waiting to reintegrate and a very awkward opening month.