Man City agree to pay Rodri's €70 million release clause - reports
Atlético Madrid midfielder, Rodri, looks to be bound for the Premier League after announcing to the club that he wants to leave this summer.
Manchester City have agreed to pay Atlético Madrid €70 million for Rodri according to Sky Sports, who told the club on Tuesday that he wanted to leave this summer. The club had been waiting for his decision but feared the worst and lined up Marcos Llorente as his possible replacement.
The 22-year-old previously said he couldn't guarantee that he would continue at Atlético with offers arriving from Bayern Munich and Manchester City along with interest from elsewhere.
Rodri continue his ascent as world class midfielder
Rodri started his career at Atlético Madrid before leaving to play with Villarreal. He established himself as one of the finest midfielders in Spain before Atlético resigned him last summer and he improved again. Considered a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets in the national team, he will likely replace Fernandinho under Pep Guardiola provided the deal goes through.
He made his debut with Spain in March of 2018 under Julen Lopetegui but has slowly elbowed his way into Luis Enrique's side, starting against Malta and Faroe Islands in the 2020 Euro qualifiers.
Diego Simeone was keen to keep Rodri but a call from the manager did not help as he continued to fret over the project at Atlético. They were able to offer him the same contract terms as City but he was not convinced and looks like to switch LaLiga for the Premier League this summer.