Rodri chooses Barcelona as Real Madrid pursuit hits the wall

Rodri has made Barcelona his preferred destination, throwing Real Madrid's long-running pursuit of the Manchester City midfielder into serious doubt. Madrid spent weeks trying to agree a fee with City, but no deal was reached and they had still not created space in the squad for the 30-year-old. That hesitation gave Barcelona the opening they needed, and the Catalans have moved quickly. Barcelona have held talks with the Spain international's representatives and are pushing to complete a deal. Any transfer would cost more than €50 million, and while nothing is signed yet, sources in Spain are convinced Rodri will not be joining Real Madrid. City are not expected to stand in Rodri's way and are open to negotiations, but they want a fee closer to €70 million. Barcelona have not yet submitted a formal bid. Rodri is in the final year of his contract with City and is keen for a new challenge. Barcelona appeal to him because of their style of play and the presence of several of his Spain teammates, which has strengthened the Catalans' position. Barcelona had been holding back their transfer budget in the hope of signing Julian Alvarez, but Atletico Madrid repeated this week that their star man will not leave unless his €500m release clause is paid. With Frenkie De Jong also facing time on the sidelines through injury, Barcelona have moved to exploit the Rodri opportunity, and Hansi Flick has already spoken to the midfielder about his plans. For Real Madrid, it is a painful setback. Their plan was to sell a midfielder such as Eduardo Camavinga to free up a squad place, but the Frenchman has made it clear he will not leave this summer. Madrid now cannot return for their top target in midfield until they resolve their squad situation. The already confirmed arrival of Yan Diomande will not be an issue, as the player is under 23 and exempt from the squad limit.