Negotiations are progressing at a frantic pace between Barcelona and Manchester City to complete the transfer deal for Spanish star Rodri.
The announcement by Enzo Maresca, City’s coach, in which he warned that he was counting on Rodri’s return to the team’s training sessions, was clearly nothing more than an attempt to project optimism without any real basis.
The negotiating machinery at both clubs has operated at a continuous pace, and the player’s transfer has become closer than ever.
The newspaper “Sport” reported that in less than 48 hours all the details of Barcelona’s first financial offer had already been confirmed, and today the new step taken by the Catalan club has come to light.
The course of the negotiations also follows the usual scenario in such cases: Barcelona opened with an offer of 50 million euros on the negotiating table.
English sources had confirmed that Manchester City was not prepared to let Rodri go for less than around £70 million, so this first offer, which was doomed to fail, was ruled out from the initial attempts.
Nevertheless, it was also confirmed from that moment that contacts would continue over the weekend to prepare a second offer capable of convincing Manchester City to accept its demands.
And that is exactly what happened, as neither side wants to delay a deal on which everyone appears to agree.
Following the usual course of this matter, the English media have revealed the financial details of the Catalan club’s new attempt.
At present, Barcelona is prepared to pay €65 million plus another €5 million in add-ons—an important financial effort by the club, yet still slightly short of the £70 million Manchester City is demanding.
Manchester City is now expected to take a step forward and show some flexibility in its financial demands as well.
