The dream Barcelona midfield for 2026-27 as Rodri transfer links intensify | OneFootball

Barcelona are pushing for the signing of Rodri from Manchester City and it could be a game changer for their midfield.

Think back to Barca’s glory days under Pep Guardiola and the midfield they had then really stood out as the key part of the team. The trio of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta absolutely dominated – not just for club, but for country as well.

It was the kind of midfield that would be almost impossible to replicate, but that’s not to knock the talent they have there these days.

And if they can get their hands on Rodri, they would be signing one of the very best midfielders in the world.

Here’s how Barca’s midfield would look with Rodri in it.

The starters

Obviously, if fit, Rodri would be going straight in as a starter.

Barca simply haven’t had the money to be spending more than €60m on a player and not giving them a huge role in the team in recent years.

Even if they were getting Rodri for nothing, he’d still end up as a vital part of their plans. He’s that good.

Hansi Flick often set Barca up with a 4-2-3-1 shape last season, and it worked well, but a specialist holding player like Rodri would offer some flexibility to be able to mix it up with a 4-3-3 as well.

Rodri is the player Barca have been missing since Busquets left.

Alongside him, Pedri is their current Xavi or Iniesta. Another of the world’s best midfielders, and still only 23, he has almost 250 appearances for Barca to his name.

There’s not much more that Pedri can add to his game. He arguably needs to step up on the biggest stages, but still has his prime ahead of him. And his standards are so high already that he’ll be counted upon as a starter for Barca for the foreseeable.

So, who completes the puzzle alongside Rodri and Pedri? Normally, it might be Frenkie de Jong in a 4-3-3, but he’ll be injured for the first few months of the new season.

That points to a 4-2-3-1 in the meantime, with Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez battling it out for the number 10 spot.

As for who has the edge between them, it was pretty even last season. Olmo started 24 La Liga games and Lopez started 19.

Lopez made more goal contributions, but Olmo might still be in pole position to be the first choice in behind the striker.

The backups

The only thing with Rodri is that he isn’t averse to injuries. He missed 27 games last season, and did his ACL the season before.

That means there’ll still be a chance for Marc Bernal to get enough minutes to keep developing. There’s talk of a new deal for Bernal after his breakthrough season in the Barca first team, with another Marc (Casado) being the casualty instead.

Bernal, 19, will have a lot to learn from Rodri. He’ll have the perfect mentor to develop his game as a holding midfielder.

Another prospect looking to develop in the Barca midfield, albeit one a bit further along in his journey, is Gavi.

Tipped to become just as important as Pedri in a best-case scenario, Gavi is at a bit of a crossroads at the age of 22. A serious injury slowed his momentum last season.

But Flick has big plans for him still and Gavi should be taking up a big role this season, even if he has to make do as a rotation player for now.

With Bernal and Gavi there to push Rodri and Pedri, plus De Jong to factor in further down the line, Barca’s midfield puzzle should be complete by Lopez deputising for Olmo or vice versa.

But could there be room for one final gap-filler signing to cover for De Jong’s absence?

Barca would have to shop in the bargain basement, knowing it would just be a stop-gap addition. Leon Goretzka is still a free agent after leaving Bayern Munich, for example, and he’s worked with Flick before.

Alternatively, Barca could capitalise on Girona’s relegation by swooping for Azzedine Ounahi, or promote someone like Brian Farinas from within.

Whether they push for another midfield signing after Rodri could well depend on how much he costs, and if they still think they have a chance of signing a new striker.

As back-to-back La Liga winners, they don’t need too much more. Rodri alone could elevate their midfield massively.