Manchester City

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Rodri says his "heart will always be blue," but it "is the right moment to say goodbye" to Manchester City.

The 30-year-old, who won 14 major honours with City, has left the club after seven years to to join Barcelona.

"It's not like I miss [City] because I don't feel like I'm leaving," Rodri told Manchester City's official website. "I think I'm just moving to another club, but my heart will always be linked to the city and to the club.

"I always try to be involved in the games, try to come and watch them and keep in touch with my ex-team-mates.

"But, of course, physically you leave. Seven years I think is the right moment to say goodbye, to write a good story.

"I always say that the most important thing is to have the whole image, the whole movie, and say I'm proud of this.

"Both parts, club and player, we're proud of this and this was the reason for my decision.

"My heart will always be blue all my life. And they always have Rodri for anything they need."

The Ballon d'Or winner says his relationship with the fans helped him to recover from the serious knee injury that meant he missed much of the 2024-25 campaign.

"I always think that individual trophies are not that important. What I felt was the love of my club all these years like in the bad moments when I got injured," he added.

"It was amazing the love I received when I came back.

"They showed me in that game that I came back, with all the emotion and everything they have inside to watch Rodri again. This makes me cry and makes me proud."

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

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Alexander Isak's protracted £125m move to Liverpool dominated last summer's transfer window and there are signs that Manchester City's pursuit of Enzo Fernandez could follow a similar pattern.

Chelsea agreed with the midfielder's agent Javier Pastore in late May that he could leave the club for £120m - but they put a deadline of 14 August for any bids.

Now that deadline has passed without any formal offers, the Blues have told Fernandez's camp that the player is not for sale in this transfer window.

But, as last summer's Isak saga showed, it is rarely that simple. The Fernandez uncertainty is not going away.

Manchester City, managed by Fernandez's former boss Enzo Maresca, are still keen to sign the 25-year-old and believe the London club still want to do a deal.

City, who are also in advanced talks about a £85m deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, want to bolster their midfield after Rodri agreed a move to Barcelona and Bernardo Silva left when his contract expired.

They have already signed midfielder Elliot Anderson for a club-record £116m from Nottingham Forest, winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City for £12.5m and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for £1.7m.

If Fernandez and Bouaddi join, it means Maresca will likely have overseen a total spend of more than £330m.

A chunk of that outlay will be funded by the sales of Rodri and James Trafford, as well as the likely departures of Tijjani Reijnders and Savinho. The exits of Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have reduced the wage bill too.

Reports from Spain suggest Chelsea remain privately open to selling Fernandez and the club have appointed high-profile agent Jorge Mendes, who also represents winger Pedro Neto, to resolve the situation.

Read the full article here

Ciaran Varley
BBC Sport Journalist

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A new documentary shows the moment Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told his players that he was "incredibly sad" that captain Kyle Walker had asked to leave the club.

In an emotional scene, the Spanish manager is also shown telling the players "you cannot behave" the way Walker did.

Former City defender Walker joined AC Milan on loan in January 2025, after asking his manager if he could leave the club for a fresh challenge.

A new Amazon Prime documentary series following Guardiola's final two years at the club captures the manager addressing his team just days after the defender's departure.

"So sad, what happened with Kyle," he says, before a home match with Chelsea.

"It was so easy for him to come to me [and say] 'I'm tired'. But you cannot behave as a captain the way he has done it. You cannot, in the toughest moments in our lives.

"What did you do my friends? What did you do with your captain? Tell me, what did you do?"

While it is not clear what specific behaviour from his captain Guardiola is referring to, one scene does capture an argument between the pair following a loss at Anfield in December 2024, during which Walker was at fault for losing the ball to Luis Diaz before the former Liverpool winger won a penalty.

"Kyle has to know that if you lose the ball it's a goal," Guardiola tells his dressing room afterwards, which draws an angry reaction from the defender, who says: "Every meeting, it's my name".

Guardiola's response was to say: "Maybe because you're a captain."

Walker replies: "OK. You didn't want me to be your captain".

After the argument, the documentary shows the Spanish coach in tears as he tells his team: "If I'm a problem, then you have to tell me.

"I won't stay here just for the money, or just for the fact to stay.

"I extended the contract because I want to be here with you, I want to win a fight in that position. I don't want to feel that I'm leaving and running away from you. I don't want to have that feeling that now the pieces fall down."

He adds: "But if you feel, captains first, then the other ones, for example [feel] that there's a problem, tell me. It's not going to change the love I have for all of you - not one second. But I want to fight. That's all. I'm sorry."

Read more from the documentary

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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes Manchester City's endeavours to replace Rodri this summer will be "nigh on impossible".

The 30-year-old is set to sign a four-year contract with La Liga champions Barcelona in a deal worth about £65m.

"Elliot Anderson is a fine player and an excellent footballer but if you look at Manchester City's midfield over the main piece of Pep Guardiola's reign, they had experience, quality and depth," Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"They had Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, Fernandinho in the early days, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, so it does seem an area of concern.

"Don't get me wrong - City are still in a good position. Mateo Kovacic is a good player, Anderson has come in, Phil Foden wasn't quite on it last season and Rayan Cherki is still around.

"But are these players capable of matching or pipping Arsenal this season? That's the big question - and I'm not so sure they are at this moment in time.

"It does feel like City have more work to do in the transfer market. Ayyoub Bouaddi has been linked, but he is still a young player. I'm more interested in the Enzo Fernandez interest, he would be an excellent signing.

"These things are still 'ifs though, so it is a 'wait and see' thing right now."

However, former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart provided a different perspective on the unique situation.

Listen to his thoughts below or listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes nobody should be "heaping massive expectations" on new manager Enzo Maresca this season, especially if the club's hierarchy aren't "putting pressure on internally".

Last season saw Pep Guardiola bring an end to his 10-year reign at Etihad Stadium with a domestic cup double, handing over the baton to his former assistant manager.

"I do feel the club will want to be pushing on all fronts but I don't think the same sort of pressure will be on Maresca this season," Hart said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"Given all the names that have gone out of the door and all the names that aren't necessarily in the door yet, I don't think they will be putting pressure on internally. But, of course, there is always going to be the noise externally.

"However, the club has enough success in the bank and enough know-how to understand that the Premier League and the Champions League are really tough places to be.

"I don't think they are greedy enough to think second, third or fourth place - or even a more difficult season - is enough to say they have fallen off. They trust and believe in Maresca, they don't see him as a gamble."

Arsenal produced a statement win to lift the Community Shield on Sunday, as Manchester City underwhelmed in their first competitive match under Maresca.

"This is a very realistic club," Hart added. "It needs fresh eyes, but it also needs the old school to step up now to keep everyone calm and focused.

"I don't think Manchester City will overreact about the result. It was a poor game and some of the guys weren't playing with fluidity."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester City will have to pay Chelsea more than £120m to land Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez if they try to complete a deal in the final two weeks of the transfer window. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

City, Arsenal and Tottenham are all also interested in Pedro Neto, 26, who joined Chelsea for £54m from Wolves in 2024. (Metro), external

But the Blues want close to £100m if they are to sell the Portugal winger this summer. (Mail - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

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Last season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.

While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.

Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.

But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).

The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.

While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.

Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

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We asked for your views on Rodri's likely exit and whether Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi would be a suitable replacement.

Here are some of your comments:

Harry: Bouaddi is deceptively experienced He's played more senior games at 18 than Rodri had played by 22. Is he a replacement? No, because Rodri is the best defensive midfielder in the world. But, he can rotate with Nico Gonzalez and develop over time. The market is terrible so we will have to develop our next defensive midfielder and Bouaddi could be it.

Tom: This is the only instance of our transfer policy where letting someone go before they start to deteriorate doesn't make sense. Selling the best player in the world to fill the gap with a younger, untested midfielder can/will backfire massively - and this will fall on the manager rather than the policy.

Andrew: Irresistible for Rodri to return home as World Cup-winning captain. Bouaddi looks technical and coachable. Enzo Fernandez - not a fan at all as he is a good but not great player. I love players with fight but he only seems to care about himself and Argentina.

Derek: Well, it's a new era. We've lost six experienced players since last season - some we can replace, but two we can't no matter who we get in. There must be other options aside from an untried 18-year-old and someone who I hope we don't get in Fernandez. But, that's for the powers at be. It remains to be seen who else could go too.

Brian: The sale of Rodri to Barcelona is very much about Rodri and his final grandstand years in football. Rodri is and always will be a City hero. Football is also a business and this was the right deal at the right time. It's now for City to build a new style of play with a faster and more attacking focused midfield. Barcelona have a gem. City now need our new axis point.

Harry: Rodri was already gone to anyone not living in delusion. We were always going to be without him this season. As for replacements, similarly to Bernardo Silva, there aren't any available. If you want a Rodri-type player then you need to develop them. For now, our midfield has to be Gonzalez and Anderson - it's a non-negotiable.

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Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has urged fans to give Enzo Maresca's side time after their 3-0 loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield.

Kovacic told BBC Radio Manchester: "Yeah very disappointing - we want to win football matches, finals.

"It's tough. Arsenal are a team who when they score they are good and stay in the lead. Then they scored the second, which is sloppy from us - and then, of course, the game is over.

"Everybody is exhausted, drained from last season. Everyone needs to recover and be ready for this season. We have no time and there are no excuses - we have to be ready.

"It will be difficult [to get the title back from Arsenal] - they are a consistent side. They will be a tough opponent but we are there to challenge them.

"It has been different under Maresca and I think it will take time, which is normal for new things, but he has adapted really well and we have a good connection with him."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

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Jack Grealish made a somewhat unexpected return to the Manchester City team on Sunday - so what could his future hold?

Grealish has the chance of a fresh start under a new manager at City in Maresca.

The Italian did say after Sunday's game that Grealish will get games if he stays and impresses.

But it still feels more than likely he will end up leaving.

"Is Grealish going to be the player to change City and make a difference this season?" asked ex-Scotland winger Nevin on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I don't think many people think that's going to happen for Jack at Manchester City, but it's a chance to say to any suitors at all that he's available, he's fit and he does look good.

"He's done enough for me to think he'll do a job for somebody."

Grealish could yet return to Everton. The Toffees opted not to make the deal permanent for City's rumoured valuation of £50m this summer.

But with one year left on his supposed £300,000-a-week deal, and with Grealish likely to be a substitute at best, City are surely going to be open to lower or loan offers.

For now, he remains City's player, with just that lingering possibility he could still revive his career at the Etihad.

• Read more on Grealish