Barcelona are weighing up whether to rival Real Madrid in the pursuit of Manchester City's Rodri, even as their efforts to sign Julián Álvarez from Atlético Madrid remain stuck. Real have held weeks of talks with the Spain captain but have yet to strike a deal, giving Barça an opening after Frenkie de Jong's knee injury is set to sideline him for several months. The situation underlines a busy summer of midfield business across Spain's top two clubs as both look to strengthen key positions.

City are resigned to letting Rodri leave for around £60m if he does not sign a new contract, having already recruited Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and pursuing Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi. Real, who have agreed a club-record £115m fee for RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande, may need to sell players such as Aurélien Tchouaméni or Eduardo Camavinga to fund a Rodri deal while also negotiating a new contract with Vinícius Júnior. Meanwhile, Atlético insist Álvarez is not for sale despite interest from Barcelona and Arsenal, and Barça forward Ferran Torres, also entering the final year of his contract, is awaiting talks over an extension.