Barcelona have been linked with a move for Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva as Xavi seeks a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets, but shouldn’t Pep Guardiola be more worried about losing Rodri to the Catalans?
The 26-year-old joined City on a long-term deal from Atletico Madrid in 2019 and has gone on to make 181 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals with 14 assists.
Rodri is one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League, let alone Europe, so Barca would surely prefer him as Busquets’ successor. He’s Spanish too and has played alongside the Barcelona legend on 15 occasions for the national team.
This season, Rodri is 2nd in the City squad for playing time in the league (1648/1800 minutes), 1st for tackles (2.3 per game), 1st for interceptions (1.1 per game), 1st for blocks (0.5 per game), 1st for most passes (92.5 per game), 1st for most accurate long balls (5.6 per game) and 2nd for aerial duels won (2.2 per game), so he’s a very talented and important player.
Gundogan and Silva are arguably more attainable for Barcelona, with the former out of contract this summer while the latter has been vocal about wanting to leave in the coming months, but Rodri is the better fit in front of the defence.
The 25-year-old won’t come cheap as City paid £62.8m back in 2019, but they’ve shown an interest in the past. Pep may need to brace himself.
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