A press report revealed on Tuesday a new twist in Barcelona's pursuit of Manchester City star Rodri during the current summer window.
Reports over the past few hours claim Barcelona lodged an offer worth 50 million euros, only for the English club to reject it.
Sport, meanwhile, insist Barca are ready to stretch to 60 million euros for the best player at the 2026 World Cup.
Even that isn't enough. City may value their relationship with Barcelona, but they won't part with the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, one of their standout performers, for a bargain fee.
Yet "Marca" reported on Tuesday that a deal between the two European giants remains out of reach. City have slapped a 70 million euro price tag on their 30-year-old, and nothing short of that will convince them to let him go, not least because they would have to spend heavily to replace him.
Morocco's Ayoub Bouaddi of Lyon, whose value would top 100 million euros and reach 130 million according to AS, sits among the targets alongside Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez. That is precisely why City are holding out for a big fee from Rodri's sale. The Catalan club, though, have no intention of meeting the asking price.
Standing firm on that stance, Barcelona have a meeting pencilled in soon between Hugo Viana and Deco, the sporting directors of Manchester City and Barcelona.
The Blaugrana had hoped to welcome Rodri back on Wednesday to resume training. They may now be forced to wait.
The midfielder is expected to report to Manchester for training, unless Barcelona can drive down his price and get the deal over the line in the coming hours.