Rodri has agreed to join FC Barcelona according to club transfer market expert Gerard Romero and his Jijantes outlet plus Nil Sola, citing anonymous sources.

“Rodri chooses Barça,” Jijantes tweeted. “The midfielder has given his approval to Hansi Flick’s project. Barça is preparing to pursue the Ballon d’Or winner,” it added.

Jijantes’ and Sola’s reports come shortly after Carlos Montfort and SPORT revealed how Hansi Flick had personally called Rodri to explain his project and also convince him into leaving Manchester City .

This particular development transpired after talks between City and Real Madrid for the Spain captain broke down over a disagreement regarding the 30-year-old’s transfer fee.

City reportedly put that at $86.5 million (€75 million) over the weekend. But Madrid only wanted to offer $57.6 million (€50 million), then possibly account for the rest of the fee in add-ons.

SPORT has since said that Rodri’s price tag is $75 million (€65 million), which isn’t too expensive for the back-to-back La Liga winners. At COPE, though, Victor Navarro explains that the pivot has been offered to Barça for a reduced $69 million (€60 million).

Rodri might have to lower his salary demands, however, as he’s currently paid $296,000 (£220,000) a week in England according to Goal.

In France, reliable transfer market expert Fabrice Hawkins says that Rodri’s preference is “to join Barcelona over Real Madrid, with both Manchester City and Real Madrid aware of the player’s stance”.

“Barcelona has held a long-standing interest in the midfielder, which intensified following Frenkie de Jong’s injury. The club believes Rodri would be an ideal fit for Hansi Flick’s system, while the player is understood to feel he would thrive in Barcelona’s style of play,” Hawkins added.

Rodri would be a major coup for FC Barcelona

If Rodri really has given his ‘OK’ to Barça, there are now important factors to iron out such as what City wants to make from the deal and what he’ll be paid at the Spotify Camp Nou.

According to Hawkins, that’s something between 60-70 million, and Barça “must now find the financial resources to make a deal possible”.

From a sporting perspective, however, Rodri should slot in easily under Flick and alongside his Spain teammate Pedri in the heart of midfield, as Hawkins stated the club believes.

This could spell bad news for Frenkie de Jong, who is injured for anything from three to six months with a foot knock and would find it hard to make his way back into the fold with Rodri around.

Other Spain, and potentially club, teammates that Rodri has just won the World Cup with include Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo.

Rodri would be pivotal in providing further control to the midfield, and possibly extending domestic dominance over Real Madrid. This has seen FC Barcelona win five out of the last six domestic pieces of silverware on offer in Spain, while Los Blancos were trophyless over two seasons with a lack of a worthy replacement for Toni Kroos often cited as a factor.