Barça sets a limit with Rodri and releases Ferran Torres

BarcelonaBarça continues to negotiate with Manchester City for the arrival of Rodri Hernández. With the terms agreed with the Madrid midfielder for four seasons, the agreement with the English club is pending. After an initial proposal rejected for 50 million euros in fixed and variable amounts, as ARA has learned, the new Blaugrana bid now rises to a ceiling of 65 million euros, distributed as 55 fixed, 5 variable –easily met– in the form of games played, and 5 that will depend on how many titles Rodri wins as a Barça player. The talks between the parties are led by Alejandro Echevarría and Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco, from Barça and Ferran Soriano and Hugo Viana from City. There is optimism to close the operation before the end of the week, although Rodri is injured in the back and would not debut in the short term with his new team.

Meanwhile, Barça is moving forward to sell Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain for a minimum of 50 million euros between fixed and variable amounts. A key step is seen this Wednesday in the training session planned with all available internationals at Sant Joan Despí. Hansi Flick has allowed the Valencian not to train with his teammates while his departure is being finalized. It is also expected that this operation could be closed in the coming hours. Ferran's contract ends on June 30, 2027, and he has not wanted to wait for a firm offer from Barça in September to renew it. He considers that the move should have been made weeks ago, once Robert Lewandowski's departure was known. On the other hand, the decisive goal in the World Cup final leads him to believe that he deserves a treatment that he will finally receive in Paris under Luis Enrique.

Julián Álvarez, almost impossible

The other major operation that Barça is awaiting is Julián Álvarez. With the footballer back in dynamics with Atlético de Madrid, and awaiting his reunion this Wednesday with his coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, the situation is not encouraging for the blaugrana interests. Quite the contrary: the repeated refusal from the Mattress makers, also reinforced by the Apollo fund —the club's main shareholder—, forces Deco to explore alternatives to strengthen the attack. In this regard, one of the players that the culé sporting director likes the most is Georges Mikautadze, a Villarreal forward. Last season he scored 13 goals in La Liga with Villarreal and has a similar mobile profile to Julián's. He will turn 26 in October, was acquired by the yellow submarine club a summer ago for 31 million euros and could change scenery again if Barça makes a strong bid for him.