Barcelona manager Hansi Flick did not know it at the time, but he could easily have been describing Rodri in April when he spoke about what his side needs to get even better.
“We need players with leadership on the pitch,” Flick, who has guided Barça to back-to-back LaLiga titles in his two years with the club, said. “This is important in the [key] moments. It’s about speaking or telling a teammate ‘One or two meters left or right, or press.’ This is what we need on the pitch, to speak more.”
Rodri, described as the “computer who makes Spain tick” by 2026 World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente, fits that description to a tee. One example among many came when Spain were behind against Georgia in the Euro 2024 round of 16: Rodri literally stopped in the middle of the pitch, the ball at his feet, and told his teammates what to do. Spain won that game 4-1, and later won the tournament, too.
“At that moment, I thought that was what I had to do,” Rodri told ESPN after the game. “It was a little bit mad; 10 minutes where we lost control. Sometimes, 20 or 30 seconds of saying to people ‘Calm down’ is more productive than going on the attack.”
Two years on from that moment, Rodri is joining Barcelona from Manchester City in a transfer worth an initial €60 million, with another €16.5M due in potential add-ons. He will be Flick’s computer on the pitch.
The 30-year-old, who won the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, becomes Barça’s fifth signing of the summer. The club’s window is beginning to rival that of Real Madrid, who spent north of €200 million on six signings early in the window as they look to end Barça’s recent dominance of LaLiga.
Flick has not been afforded the same luxury of so many signings since taking over at Camp Nou in 2024. That has changed dramatically this summer, though, with former City teammates Rodri and João Cancelo (free) arriving this week, adding to earlier additions of Anthony Gordon (€70 million), Karim Adeyemi (€22 million) and Jesse Bisiwu (€8.5 million).
More signings could yet follow. Barça still want a No. 9 striker following the exits of Robert Lewandowski (Chicago Fire, free) and Ferran Torres (PSG, €50 million) — Atlético Madrid’s Julián Álvarez remains their main target, although a deal is proving tricky to complete. A center back could also come in, budget permitting, after Ronald Araújo left for Liverpool on loan.
Barça’s movement in the market is in stark contrast to Flick’s first two summers. Dani Olmo (€61 million) and Pau Víctor (€5.5 million) were the only signings in his first season in charge; they were followed by goalkeeper Joan García (€25 million) and Roony Bardghji (€2.5 million) last year, with Marcus Rashford and Cancelo joining on loan. All of those deals combined totaled less than €90 million, but the checkbook has been opened this year by club president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco.
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Marcotti: Rodri’s move to Barcelona from Man City ‘makes no sense’
Gordon, who joined from Newcastle United, had been linked in the past, but the speed with which the deal was completed before the World Cup came as a surprise. Gordon’s transfer cost Barça almost €70 million — way more than the €30 million they could have signed Manchester United‘s Marcus Rashford for due to a clause in his loan contract last season — but sources told ESPN the club’s decision-makers felt that Gordon, whose salary is also lower than Rashford’s, was the better fit.
Gordon, 25, is viewed as someone with room to improve but, more importantly, one who fits Flick’s style better: high intensity, pressing, nonstop running. It was telling that the England international, who can play across the frontline, compared himself to workaholic Barça winger Raphinha at his presentation in June.
Adeyemi, who joined from Borussia Dortmund, adds depth to an attack that has lost Rashford, Lewandowski and Torres. The Germany international joined for an initial €22 million and has looked sharp in preseason. Bisiwu is more of an unknown quantity. The 18-year-old appears unlikely to feature much, given the competition across the frontline, but he showed a glimpse of why Barça paid Club Brugge €8.5 million to sign him when he scored two goals in Sunday’s 5-2 friendly win against Basel.
A third spell at Barça for Portugal fullback Cancelo had been on the cards for a long time. He terminated his contract with Al Hilal last weekend, allowing him to join Barça permanently, this time as a free agent. His signing coincided with Rodri’s, taking Barça’s total spend this summer, before add-ons, north of €150 million.
While ESPN sources say Gordon is viewed as a key figure, it is the signing of Rodri that has raised hopes of success this season. Expectations were low when Flick took over on the back of a trophyless 2023-24 season under Xavi Hernández. However, fueled by the trio of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Pedri, Barça won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España, firmly reestablishing themselves as the team to beat in Spain for perhaps the first time since Lionel Messi left the club in 2021.
That lifted the bar ahead of last season, when more trophies were demanded. They followed in the form of another LaLiga title and the Supercopa de España, but Barça again came up short in Europe. They have fallen in the semifinal and the quarterfinal of the Champions League under Flick. It is progress compared to recent years, when they twice dropped into the Europa League, but it is not enough.
Rodri does not guarantee them a first Champions League trophy since 2015, but ESPN sources have described his signing as a “statement of intent.” He has won almost everything there is to win in the game — the Champions League, a European Championship, a World Cup and the Ballon d’Or — and the belief is that he will elevate those around him.
There have been comparisons to the arrival of Lewandowski in 2022, the last summer when Barça heavily invested in the squad. The Poland striker set standards on and off the pitch in his first season at the club and helped Xavi deliver the first league title of the post-Messi era.
Rodri had not actually been a player Barça had in mind before the summer; in years past, Xavi was desperate to sign a deep-lying midfielder, but Barça’s needs had slightly changed under Flick.
That said, Rodri had long been touted as a possible heir to Sergio Busquets, who left in 2023 (and, coincidentally, returned in a coaching role this week), but given City’s standing in the game compared to Barça at the time, he was never viewed as a real option. That he was convinced by Deco and Flick, with ESPN sources saying the manager’s playing style was of great attraction to Rodri, is a sign of Barça’s growth in recent years.
ESPN sources also highlighted the sweetness of beating Clásico rivals Madrid to a player who would have fitted perfectly into the midfield at the Bernabéu. In fact, it looked, and had done for a while, as if Rodri would join Los Blancos as he moved into the final year of his contract with City. So the view is that not only have Barça landed the 2026 World Cup’s Golden Ball winner, they have also prevented Madrid from signing a player who could have improved them.
“For me, Rodri is worth €35 million in terms of what he gives Barcelona,” former Madrid player and coach Jorge Valdano told Movistar this week, “and another €40 million for what he denies Real Madrid.”
Barça’s spending has been fueled by a desire to give Flick the tools ESPN sources say he has earned. Moving on big earners such as Lewandowski, Marc-André ter Stegen and Ronald Araújo has created space on the wage bill, while money has been raised through the departures of Torres (€50 million), Ansu Fati (€11 million), Tommy Marques (€10 million), Jofre Torrents (€5 million) and Iñaki Peña (€3 million), while Barça also pocketed a €4.8 million fee as part of a clause in Jan Virgili’s move from Mallorca to Club Brugge. Marc Casadó and Héctor Fort are also anticipated to leave.
The expenditure has also been possible, in part, because of a return to Camp Nou. That has increased Barça’s LaLiga spending limit, although ESPN sources say it could fall again if they have to return to the Olympic Stadium later in 2027 when the roof is put on the redeveloped Camp Nou. That is another reason, sources said, for the rush to give Flick a better squad this summer.
That does not mean Barça have turned away from youngsters. Teenagers Pau Cubarsí, Marc Bernal and Yamal will still play significant roles, while Xavi Espart, Jordi Pesquer, Ebrima Tunkara, Brian Fariñas and Hamza Abdelkarim are among the other teenagers to have impressed Flick in preseason.
For all that, Barça’s summer might still hinge on whether they can sign a striker. Egypt‘s 18-year-old Abdelkarim is the only natural No. 9 at the club, although Flick believes any of his forwards, as well as Olmo and Fermín Lopez could play there.
Whoever joins, though, doesn’t really matter. Barça have set their stall out with the signing of Rodri, and others, this summer. Flick has worked wonders with very few reinforcements in his first two years in charge. Now, he has Rodri to talk for him on the pitch, to protect a fragile backline and bring the best out of the youngsters surrounding him in defense and midfield.
It creates a different playing field for Flick as he prepares for battle with Jose Mourinho’s Madrid. It does not guarantee success as his third season launches on Sunday away at Elche, but it changes how everything will be viewed as Barça hunt a LaLiga three-peat and the Champions League crown.
