Journalist reveals ‘truth’ behind Bayern interest in Man City star | OneFootball

Manchester City midfielder Rodri could be heading out of the Premier League club in the summer transfer window. 

Rodri, who guided Spain to 2026 World Cup glory, is reportedly keen to return to Spain, with La Liga champions Barcelona interested.

The Spaniard proved his class during the World Cup and deservedly won the Golden Ball award.

Rodri: Bayern Munich never made contact

Rodri joined Man City from Atletico Madrid back in 2019 and has made 298 appearances, scoring 28 goals.

The 30-year-old has enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Man City, winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups and one Champions League trophy.

Spanish press reported that Bayern Munich made contact with Man City over Rodri earlier this summer, but they quickly distanced themselves after learning that the midfielder either preferred to stay at City or return to Spain.

Christian Falk has informed CFBayern Insider that there is no truth in those rumours.

The Bild journalist said: “It is NOT TRUE: Bayern Munich made contact with Rodri earlier in the summer transfer window. I was in talks with the Bayern bosses and they said no – there were no negotiations. They didn’t knock on the door of Rodri’s camp.

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“He’s a very interesting player, but they don’t need him in the position. He’s also still very expensive, by the way, with Manchester City looking for €75m [£64.2m]. At the moment, Real Madrid are bidding at about €60m [£51.4m]. I think a return to the Spanish top-flight is the likely route Rodri will take. Of course, there was interest from Bayern previously – but it was a long time ago in 2019.

“However, there was no money left to get him, and FC Bayern instead moved for Lucas Hernández. There were secret meetings with Atletico Madrid (at the time of Bayern’s interest in Rodri). So, it’s very hard for Bayern that they passed up on this big transfer at the time. However, it’s simply not possible for them to engage with this summer.”

Rodri on his way to Barcelona?

Real Madrid have also been heavily interested in signing Rodri, but the midfielder is reportedly more interested in joining La Liga champions Barcelona.

According to The Athletic, Barcelona’s opening offer worth around €45m plus add-ons was quickly rejected by Man City, who are demanding a fee closer to €80m.

However, Ben Jacobs has revealed that Barcelona are closing in on an agreement for Rodri, with personal terms already in place between the club and the player.

Talks between Barcelona and Manchester City have also made significant progress, with negotiations continuing over the weekend and a new bid expected imminently.

Barcelona are now pushing to finalise the transfer in the coming hours or days after positive discussions took place.

The package currently under discussion is understood to be worth more than €65m, with negotiations described as being at an advanced stage.

If Barcelona can reach an agreement with Man City over the transfer fee, Rodri could be on his way back to Spain after seven years in the Premier League.