Barcelona domino effect in full swing after Rodri request | OneFootball

In the next 24-48 hours, Barcelona will almost certainly announce the signing of Rodri from Manchester City. Over the weekend, an agreement was reached for the 30-year-old midfielder, who will travel to Catalonia on Monday ahead of finalising his move.

Once Rodri joins, attention will turn to which squad number he takes. It’s well-known that he has an affinity of 16, which he wears for Man City and the Spanish national team, but it is currently taken by Fermin Lopez, who has adopted it since being registered as a first team player in January 2024.

However, this “issue” looks set to be resolved before Rodri’s arrival is even confirmed. As per Fabrizio Romano, Fermin has agreed to relinquish the number during conversations between the pair in the last few days, thus allowing the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner to become Barcelona’s new number 16 upon arrival in Catalonia.

Fermin takes number 7 jersey following Ferran Torres exit

Fermin will move to the number 7, as already confirmed on the La Liga website. Ferran Torres’ move to Paris Saint-Germain, which was finalised over the weekend, has left it open for the 23-year-old to take, which further confirms him as one of Barcelona’s leading players going into the 2026-27 season.

In the coming days, Barcelona’s full squad number list will be known in time for this weekend’s trip to Elche, their first match of the 2026-27 La Liga season. It’s already known that Joan Garcia will be the number 1 in Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s absence, while Wojciech Szczesny makes the switch from 25 to 13, but aside from that, there is little certainty on the matter.

Joao Cancelo will likely re-take the 2 once his signing is confirmed, while fellow summer arrivals Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi will be left to choose between the likes of 14, 17 and 25. As for Rodri, he will be taking 16 thanks to Fermin’s gesture.