Man City mainstay grew tired of waiting for Real Madrid, reaches agreement with Barcelona | OneFootball

For several days now, it appeared like Real Madrid had the signing of Manchester City and Spain superstar Rodri in the bag.

The 30-year-old midfielder had made it no secret that he was keen on returning to the Spanish capital and that his past with Atletico Madrid would not affect any potential move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Reliable sources even suggested that personal terms were never going to be an issue.

But Real Madrid dropped the ball when it came to negotiations with his club, Manchester City, allowing Barcelona to swoop in and successfully hijack the operation.

Rodri got tired of waiting

Indeed, according to the reliable Matteo Moretto, the 2026 FIFA World Cup winner grew tired of waiting for Los Blancos to agree a fee with Manchester City.

Rodri got tired of waiting. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Moretto himself had previously reported that Rodri had agreed personal terms with Real Madrid, a week ago.

However, negotiations with Manchester City never really progressed meaningfully. The Premier League heavyweights were holding out for a fee of around €70 million or more, while the Merengues were hoping to bring it down to around €50 million or less.

At the same time, the Spanish capital club were also involved in intense negotiations with RB Leipzig for Yan Diomande, not to forget the contract talks with Vinicius Jr.

With all of this going on, it appears that Real Madrid seemingly took their eye off the ball when it comes to Rodri, who decided he had waited enough and has now given his okay to Barcelona.

Economic terms agreed

Terms agreed with Barcelona. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

In fact, Moretto reports that Rodri has now agreed economic terms of his contract with Barcelona, leaving Real Madrid without their priority target to reinforce the midfield.

The update further states that Barça have assured the Spanish international that they will try and move forward in negotiations with Manchester City without any delays.

The presence of several of Rodri’s Spain teammates at the Catalan club also played a role as many of them spoke to him to convince him to move to the Spotify Camp Nou.

It now remains to be seen whether Real Madrid decide to pursue another midfielder or decide to trust their current options.