On May 16th, Sport reported Rodri’s move to Manchester City is ‘practically closed’ and he’s a priority target for Pep Guardiola.
A day later, we carried a report from AS, who stated the Premier League champions have tabled a ‘formal offer’ to the Atletico Madrid midfielder.
Sport today claims, again, the domestic treble winners are ready to pay the 22-year-old’s €70m buyout clause in order to secure his services.
Los Rojiblancos are keen on retaining the player at all costs and Diego Simeone has also expressed his desire to retain the former Villarreal man. However, the La Liga side are clear that they will not make a big effort for an improved deal.
That sounds strange, given the players they’ll be losing from the wage bill this summer.
With worry over Manchester City snatching him away, Atletico have started looking at replacements.
Adrien Rabiot, whose contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires on June 30th, has emerged as a target. Simeone’s side are trying to convince the Frenchman to join them for an annual salary of €10-15m.
Rabiot is available on a free transfer, and Sport believes Atletico could face competition from the likes of Juventus or Manchester United in signing the PSG midfielder.