Barcelona's pursuit of Manchester City star Rodri is moving forward, but the deal is far from done. City knocked back a second Barcelona offer worth 60 million euros plus incentives that took the total to 70 million euros. They want 80 million to sanction the midfielder's departure, despite only a year left on his contract.
City are digging in. With the player already having agreed personal terms with Barcelona, they are holding firm on that 80 million euro mark, even if it hangs on performance targets that will be tough to hit.
According to The Times, City need to improve their financial position under Financial Fair Play rules before they can sign Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez. A big-money sale would help balance the books.
Barcelona, meanwhile, pushed their offer as high as they were willing to go. A base of 60 million euros with 10 million in incentives still wasn't enough. City rejected it late on Wednesday, though talks remain open.
Catalan newspaper "Sport" report that Barcelona are now preparing a final offer and won't go beyond it. They have the backing of the player, who has asked City to ease his exit as he wants out of the Premier League. That pressure could prove decisive.
Sources close to the talks tell the newspaper that the final offer could climb to a fixed 65 million euros, plus 10 million in variables. Half of that add-on, 5 million euros, comes with easily met conditions. The other 5 million is tied to targets that are harder to reach. It might just be enough to get City over the line.
The proposal is set to land in the coming hours. Barcelona want a preliminary agreement that saves the player a trip to Manchester, with Rodri due to report to City tomorrow, Friday. He would rather head straight to Barcelona. Nothing is settled yet, and the final, trickiest stage of the negotiations still lies ahead.
City have already accepted that Rodri is leaving. During the talks they suggested they had no problem keeping him for the final year of his deal, but that was posturing rather than the truth. Their transfer activity gives the game away: they are chasing two midfielders, Ayoub Bouaddi and Enzo Fernandez, to fill the gap left by the Spain international.
Rodri knows how hard Barcelona have worked to sign him. In return, he has shown flexibility on his contract, giving up some of the money he was previously due.
Sporting and personal reasons drive that call, and the midfielder is doing everything he can to get the transfer over the line. Barcelona, for their part, believe the negotiations have been tougher than expected but the gap has closed to the point where a deal could happen at any moment.