Manchester City are bracing for life without Rodri, with Barcelona edging closer to prising the Spanish midfielder away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, and Rico Lewis says the dressing room is ready for whatever comes next under Enzo Maresca.
The Ballon d’Or winner has informed Real Madrid that his preference, should he leave Manchester City this summer, is to move to Catalonia rather than the Spanish capital.
The World Cup-winning captain has also reportedly given Barcelona the go-ahead to open talks with City as they attempt to beat Real Madrid to his signature, ending months of uncertainty over his next destination.
City, though, have not made it easy for their suitors. The Premier League club rejected Barcelona’s opening offer, though sources say discussions between the two clubs are expected to continue in the coming days with the aim of reaching an agreement.
Reports in Spain suggest City are demanding around €65m for the 30-year-old, a figure they believe reflects his value as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the world, while Barcelona’s initial proposal fell well short of that mark.
Lewis: “It doesn’t change the landscape“
Speaking to reporters, as first quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Rico Lewis addressed the growing sense that City’s midfield is about to lose its most influential figure — and made clear he doesn’t expect it to shake Maresca’s plans.
“Everyone in this room and everyone in the world knows how good Rodri is but it’s football,” Lewis said.
“People leave, people stay, and I don’t think it changes the landscape of anything the manager wants to do here. Everyone knows how good the manager is and it shows with his accolades.”
It’s a notable show of faith from a player who has had to fight for his own place in the side. Lewis found himself further down the pecking order last season under Pep Guardiola.
Maresca’s arrival appears to have offered him a route back into contention — the pair share a relationship dating back to City’s treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, when Maresca worked as Guardiola’s assistant and Lewis was breaking into the first team.
Rodri’s importance — and the search for a successor
Rodri has been central to City’s dominance since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2019, helping the club to four Premier League titles and the 2022-23 Champions League, where he scored the winning goal in the final against Inter Milan.
With just a year left on his contract and no extension imminent, City risk losing him for a cut-price fee — or nothing at all next summer — if a deal isn’t struck now.
Maresca is already said to be planning for that eventuality. According to reports, the Italian is keen to reunite with Enzo Fernandez, whom he previously coached during their time together at Chelsea, as a possible long-term successor in midfield.
The pair worked closely at Stamford Bridge, winning the Conference League and Club World Cup together in 2025, and Maresca is understood to rate Fernandez highly as a like-for-like alternative to Rodri’s role at the base of midfield.
It leaves City facing one of the more consequential decisions of Maresca’s early tenure.
Losing a player of Rodri’s stature would represent a serious test of the head coach’s rebuild, but Lewis’s comments suggest the squad is being encouraged to see it as part of football’s natural churn rather than a crisis.
