Barcelona had not been planning to strengthen their midfield last summer, as Hansi Flick and Deco believed the squad had enough players to compete across the season's competitions.
Then came August, and with it a chance to sign Rodri, the kind of deal they call an available market opportunity.
Real Madrid wanted him too. But the midfielder, keen to leave Manchester City, had his heart set on Barcelona, so the Catalan club's sporting management got to work on bringing him to the Camp Nou.
According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, it was anything but straightforward. Negotiations with Manchester City proved difficult before the two sides finally settled on 60 million euros, plus financial add-ons.
Barcelona's fans loved it. They made their feelings clear when he was presented at the Joan Gamper Trophy.
They knew exactly what the club had landed: a Ballon d'Or winner for a midfield that was starting to look thin at the time because of De Jong's injuries.
An excellent investment
Two months into the season, nobody is questioning the Rodri signing any more. That 60 million euros looks shrewd to the point of bargain.
Glance at his numbers and the value becomes obvious. Against Getafe last Saturday he produced a complete performance, imposing his control on the game and dictating the tempo to suit whatever the team needed at any given moment.
His numbers speak for him
Nobody passes it better. Not in last weekend's match, and not in the league since the opening day, where he has a pass success rate of 94.5% from a total of 489 completed passes.
He also tends to win the ball back himself after losing it, something that happened twice on Saturday.
Those numbers reassure his team-mates, who look for him constantly, knowing he is the safest route to keeping the ball.
A leader in the dressing room
What Rodri gives Barcelona goes beyond the pitch. Inside the dressing room, he leads.
He has barely been there five minutes, yet his influence on his team-mates is already significant, particularly on the young players, who see him as a teacher with plenty to pass on.
With the season's biggest prize in their sights, the Champions League, that experience could be the element that finally gets Barcelona over the line.