FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has called Rodri on Thursday afternoon to explain his project to the Spain captain and try and convince him to join the Catalans from Manchester City. This has been reported by Carlos Montfort and SPORT, citing anonymous sources.
Those sources say that Flick personally called the midfielder, which has “completely changed the landscape” while reflecting real interest that the Blaugrana has in the World Cup winner.
Rodri is now not ruling out signing for the back-to-back La Liga champions after previously seeming destined for the Bernabeu.
As was reported earlier on Thursday, however, talks between City and Real Madrid have broken down because they can’t reach an agreement on the price of a potential transfer. Additionally, President Florentino Perez’s offer to the player hasn’t convinced Rodri either.
Rodri was previously reported as being priced at $86.5 million (€75 million) by the Mancunians. Madrid only wanted to offer $57.6 million (€50 million) initially, then possibly make the rest up of what the Premier League giant wants in variables.
SPORT now says that Rodri’s price tag is $75 million (€65 million), which is affordable for Barça. At COPE, Victor Navarro explained that the 30-year-old has been offered to the club for $69 million (€60 million).
His salary demands are another issue, however, and he’s currently believed to earn $296,000 (£220,000) a week at the Etihad according to Goal.
Barcelona isn’t going to go “crazy” over Rodri
This is something that SPORT has reported. Barça doesn’t want to make “noise” around a transfer that it considers complex to pull off, and Rodri also has to show that he wants to move to the Spotify Camp Nou.
Sporting Director Deco has been in “constant contact” with Rodri’s entourage and a senior City official too, but Flick’s call will have also helped to address any doubts that the former Ballon d’Or holder might have.
As for the FC Barcelona fanbase, it is divided on what should happen. One corner believes that midfield is already well accounted for while there’s also Rodri’s age and his injury history to consider. The other side thinks that landing an elite star that was recently the Best Player at the World Cup is a no brainer, with the chance to twist the knife into Real Madrid also too good to pass up.