Official: Rodri joins from Manchester City – “Barcelona was always my first choice”

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·19 August 2026

Official: Rodri joins from Manchester City – “Barcelona was always my first choice”

On Tuesday, Barcelona confirmed the signing of Rodri, who joins for a reported fee of €70m from Manchester City. A deal for the 30-year-old was agreed over the weekend, and less than 24 hours after he jetted into Catalonia, his arrival has been made official.

Rodri, who has signed a four-year contract at the Spotify Camp Nou, was unveiled alongside Barcelona president Joan Laporta, and soon after, he spoke to the media (via Diario AS). Despite strong links with Real Madrid earlier in the summer, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner confirmed that his first choice was always a move to the reigning La Liga champions.

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“The first thing I want to say is that I’m very happy to be here, it’s a very important day for my career. The decision to leave City was hard because it is the club that has given me everything and I thank them for understanding that it was time for me to leave. Barcelona has always been a benchmark for me in the game and in the values it represents. Barcelona was always my first choice. There were many reasons to choose Barça when you get so many proposals, some of these reasons I reserve for myself, but I fundamentally valued the sporting challenge.”

Rodri on Flick: He can help me improve

Rodri also spoke of his excitement at the prospect of working under Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick, whom he considers to be a “brave” manager.

“I have spoken with Flick and he has conveyed his enthusiasm and motivates me to work with a coach as brave as him. I think that at my age I still have room for improvement and that he can help me in this task. I’ve been more in touch with Deco, but the coach seems to me to be a transparent person and I’ll try to infect my teammates with the experience I have. I come to add.”

Rodri was also asked about the possible arrival at Barcelona of former Man City teammate Julian Alvarez, although he reduced to speak much on the matter.