Man Utd’s Aurelien Tchouameni pursuit takes yet another twist after Thursday morning Romano bombshell

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Utd Report

·6 August 2026

Man Utd’s Aurelien Tchouameni pursuit takes yet another twist after Thursday morning Romano bombshell

Barcelona have ignited a shock pursuit of first-choice Real Madrid target Rodri, meaning Aurelien Tchouameni would be staying put at the Santiago Bernabeu if a deal materialised.

The Blaugrana are looking to get one over on their arch-rivals by beating them to an agreement with the player and Manchester City.

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Barcelona make shock move for Rodri

Despite Madrid making their interest known for several weeks and Rodri green-lighting the move, City have bided their time in hopes of other clubs entering the race.

That has now proven to be the case, as both The Athletic and Fabrizio Romano confirmed this morning that the two La Liga heavyweights are going head-to-head for the 30-year-old World Cup winner.

Barcelona are exploring a deal to sign Manchester City midfielder Rodri. Sources close to the negotiation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say Barca have held talks with the player’s camp over the conditions of a potential deal. Full story from
– Thursday, 6 August 2026

Should Barcelona, the reigning league champions, come out on top in the race, it would essentially set in stone that Manchester United target Tchouameni will be seeing out 2026/2027 with Los Blancos.

What Barça’s Rodri pursuit means for Manchester United

United had been waiting in the wings and plotting a potential swoop for the Frenchman after they learned of Madrid’s desire to sign Rodri.

If they did, the Spanish giants would’ve likely had to facilitate the exit of at least one midfielder, and Tchouameni is undoubtedly one of their most valuable assets.

The Old Trafford faithful are growing increasingly concerned with the club’s lack of action on the market in recent weeks.

There has been no movement since they shelled out Youri Tielemans’ £35 million release clause to bring him in from Aston Villa in mid-July, with his arrival coming just days after Andrey Santos completed a £50m switch from Chelsea.

These Youri Tielemans strikes have us like 😮 pic.twitter.com/bllnuIrnS8

United kick off the new season away to newly promoted Hull City on August 22. It remains to be seen if there will be any new faces amongst the squad by the time the campaign-opener rolls around.