Total price of 60 million! Barcelona has made an offer to Manchester City for Rodri and has reached an agreement with the player on terms.

In a single night, Real Madrid made two official announcements: a total of 140 million euros to sign 19-year-old Ivorian winger Diomandé, followed by an early-morning announcement of a 6-year renewal with Vinícius Jr. These two players committing their futures to Real Madrid has left Merengues fans extremely excited.

However, life often has its ups and downs—while Real Madrid secured the futures of two wide attackers, they are simultaneously moving further away from Rodri's future.

Ever since news broke that Real Madrid's negotiations with Rodri were close to collapsing, multiple Spanish media outlets and Fabrizio Romano have successively reported, all pointing in one direction: Rodri has chosen Barcelona!

First, Barcelona's beat reporter Romero posted on his social media that Rodri has decided to join Barcelona, expressing approval of Flick's coaching plan.

The latest news comes from Romano: Barcelona has submitted a contract offer to Rodri's agent, and the two sides have fully agreed on personal terms. Then Barcelona will initiate club-level negotiations with Manchester City to push forward matters related to the transfer fee and complete the deal as soon as possible.

Why did Rodri's transfer take such a drastic turn in such a short time? The key factor is the transfer fee!

Real Madrid was willing to offer Rodri a lucrative contract, that much is certain. Sources close to the Bernabéu say that Real Madrid had presented a "very generous" offer to Rodri because they were genuinely interested, but the deal ultimately fell through. In a recent meeting, Rodri informed Real Madrid that he chose to join Barcelona, and Real Madrid accepted the player's decision. They believe this was entirely the player's own choice, unaffected by any other factors. "We have to accept," they said at the Valdebebas training ground.

So, the reason the deal dragged on so long was directly due to Real Madrid and Manchester City failing to agree on the transfer fee. In recent days, Real Madrid's management focused mainly on Diomandé's transfer and Vinícius's renewal, and they had not yet reached an agreement with City on the fee—in fact, they hadn't even started negotiations. This may have made Rodri feel undervalued, leading him to turn to Barcelona, which is a possibility.

Another factor that may have led Rodri to choose Barcelona could be tactical considerations, which is also confirmed by sources.

According to Spanish media outlet *Sport*, during the World Cup, Rodri privately asked Barcelona's international players about the situation in the Barcelona dressing room. Several Barcelona players who participated in the World Cup confirmed that Rodri spoke with them multiple times, very discreetly and low-key, asking about the daily routine inside the Barcelona locker room. During these conversations, Rodri was particularly interested in the coaching staff's working style and the team's atmosphere over the past two years.

What does this show? It shows that Rodri was determined to return to La Liga after the World Cup. But contrary to the public perception that he "only wanted to go to Real Madrid," his repeated inquiries about Barcelona indicate that he had not ruled out Barcelona as an option.

It must be said that Rodri is quite rational. From a tactical perspective, Barcelona clearly suits him better than Real Madrid.

Today's Manchester City is essentially a Barcelona-affiliated club. Guardiola's tenure over the past decade has rooted possession football there, and his successor Maresca is also a follower of the possession style. So, whether to follow Mourinho's counter-attacking system or play possession football under Flick, Rodri would certainly consider that.

Moreover, Barcelona has many Spanish internationals, while Real Madrid has none from that World Cup-winning squad—they only signed Cucurella in the summer. So, joining Barcelona would feel like returning to the Spanish national team; wouldn't that be even more satisfying?

Some say Real Madrid needs Rodri more, while Barcelona doesn't need him as much. Honestly, the reactions from the coaches of both teams show the answer. According to Spanish newspaper *El País*, Mourinho is very satisfied with his current squad and will not sign any new midfielders. In contrast, at Barcelona, Flick personally explained his plans to the player in order to secure Rodri.

With Barcelona and Rodri reaching full agreement on personal terms, the next crucial step is negotiating the transfer fee with Manchester City. This is where many question Barcelona, believing they simply don't have the money.

However, according to Nilsola, a reporter from Spanish radio program *El Larguero* on SER, Barcelona plans to submit an offer of €45 million fixed plus €15 million in add-ons. This budget was originally set aside for the center-back position.

See? Barcelona's management, seeing the opportunity to sign Rodri, decisively shifted the funds earmarked for a center-back. With Barcelona's opening offer reaching €60 million, and considering the player's willingness, the chances of both sides eventually reaching an agreement are quite high. We'll wait and see.