Rodri signing would put Barcelona in a dominant transfer market position for the first time in years

On August 9, local time, The Athletic analyzed transfer rumors regarding Rodri to Barcelona. If Rodri joins Barcelona, the significance extends far beyond strengthening the midfield. Although Barcelona does not currently have an urgent need for a defensive midfielder, top players like Rodri are not always available on the market. If Barcelona can beat Real Madrid to sign this Ballon d'Or winner, the club will not only acquire a midfielder comparable to Busquets' level, but more importantly, it will prove that Barcelona has emerged from its financial difficulties and once again possesses the ability to dominate top transfers and attract world-class stars who actively choose to join them.

Not long ago, if someone suggested that Barcelona could beat Real Madrid in a blockbuster signing like Rodri, it would have sounded like fantasy.

In recent summers, Barcelona struggled with whether new signings could be successfully registered, while their La Liga rivals, Real Madrid, only needed to secure the biggest stars in world football and bring them to the Bernabéu.

The signings of Bellingham in 2023 and Mbappé in 2024 reinforced the perception that when the best players in Europe face career choices, the Bernabéu always seems to be their ultimate destination.

Since Messi tearfully left Barcelona in 2021—the club's financial difficulties effectively forced them to let go of the greatest player of all time, and Messi subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain—the Catalan giants have still managed to sign some top players.

Lewandowski joined in August 2022, and Olmo arrived in 2024. Before the World Cup began, Barcelona also signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United in an €80 million deal.

Barcelona stated that the club's financial situation has improved—mainly due to increased revenues after returning to Camp Nou—and their pursuit of Rodri will not affect their plans to sign Atlético Madrid forward Álvarez. Manchester City values Rodri at around €80 million.

Would Rodri's arrival change Barcelona's plans for Álvarez? Can they afford both him and Rodri? Do they really need him? Barcelona is currently leading the race for Manchester City midfielder Rodri, but do they have sufficient budget? More importantly, do they genuinely need this player?

For years, Barcelona has had to struggle under La Liga's salary and spending rules, constantly seeking creative financial solutions while trying to rebuild a team capable of competing in the Champions League again and contending for the highest honors.

Barcelona gradually became an "opportunistic" club rather than one that could dominate the transfer market.

Free agents, players willing to take pay cuts to wear the Barcelona shirt, experienced veterans nearing the end of their careers, and highly promising young players gradually became the foundation of Barcelona's squad rebuilding model.

It must be admitted that this model has indeed worked.

Coupled with one of the best generations of players produced by La Masia academy in recent years, Barcelona has won three of the last four La Liga titles (the 2023-24 season title went to Real Madrid), and has finally returned to the later stages of top European competitions.

But these successes have still not fully restored Barcelona's former prestige.

And this is exactly the significance of the Rodri deal.

If Barcelona can sign Rodri, Flick will have perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the world today, and also the midfielder closest to Barcelona legend Busquets in modern football.

But the real importance of this deal lies on other levels.

To convince a player who won the 2024 Ballon d'Or and is also the captain of the World Cup-winning team—a player long favored by Real Madrid and the type of player Real Madrid has always most wanted to sign—to ultimately choose Barcelona over Real Madrid would send an extremely strong signal.

The best player in the World Cup appears to be about to change clubs. But for him, would moving to Catalonia really be a more reasonable choice than joining Madrid?

The last superstar in a truly similar situation was perhaps Neymar in 2013.

At that time, the 21-year-old Brazilian forward also attracted strong interest from Real Madrid, but when transferring from Santos, he ultimately chose Camp Nou.

Barcelona at that time was a completely different club.

They won the treble in 2009 and repeated the feat in 2015. Messi, Suárez, and Neymar were at their peak.

Barcelona fans have always longed for the club to return to that era, and Barcelona president Laporta knows this very well.

If there is one undeniable characteristic about Laporta, it is that he is a very skilled "dream seller."

He knows how the football business works and what fans want to hear, and he always tells them exactly that.

But even the 64-year-old Laporta has had to temper his public speeches with restraint in recent years, given the club's previous financial situation. Rodri's arrival, however, would give him a chance to fully unleash himself.

The 30-year-old Spain captain was named the best player of this World Cup after beating Argentina in the final. He represents the kind of signing Barcelona had almost forgotten it could make.

"Replacing Busquets is almost an impossible task," Barcelona sporting director Deco said in an interview with TV3 in February 2024. "He is a very special, very unique player. There is no one on the market who can truly replace him. Even if there were, they wouldn't come here because their clubs wouldn't sell them. The player closest to him is Rodri at Manchester City, but I think Manchester City would not sell him to us, nor to any other club."

At the time, Deco's words reflected less about Rodri's ability and more about Barcelona's actual situation.

Ironically, today's Barcelona does not have an urgent need for a defensive midfielder.

Xavi spent two years searching for Busquets' successor but ultimately chose to adjust the team's playing style without a traditional defensive midfielder.

Under Flick, Casado has performed excellently; Bernal has shown amazing potential; Eric García has also performed very well in the defensive midfield position; meanwhile, De Jong has finally played at his best.

Against this backdrop, Barcelona seems to have shifted its transfer focus to other positions.

The arrivals of Gordon and Adeyemi solved the team's attacking problems, and before De Jong's recent injury, the midfield could even be said to be the most competitive and crowded area of the squad.

Therefore, Rodri wouldn't join because Barcelona lacked options. He might come to Barcelona because players of his caliber simply do not appear on the transfer market very often.

Rodri will not transform Barcelona.

Nor does Barcelona need to rely on Rodri to prove its resurgence. The titles won under Flick have largely accomplished that.

But if this deal eventually goes through, it will be the first time in years that Barcelona has truly been in a dominant position in the transfer market.

They would no longer be the club struggling to catch up, trying to keep pace with others, but would once again become the club that can dictate market trends.

Perhaps this is the biggest victory of this deal.

It is not just about signing one of the best midfielders in world football, but more importantly, Barcelona has once again become a club that top players like Rodri are willing to actively choose.

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