Rodri has told Barcelona he wants to join them this summer, his agent has revealed.Real Madrid recently opened talks with City over a move for the World Cup winning Spain captain. Fresh from winning the World Cup, Rodri finds himself at the centre of a high-profile transfer battleGettyHowever, their famous arch rivals have swooped in to hijack the deal.talkSPORT reported on Thursday that Barca had moved ahead of Madrid in the race to sign Rodri.Now, the 30-year-old’s agent Pablo Barquero has told Spanish TV that his client is prioritising a move to the Nou Camp.“Out of respect for Madrid, as they have been class, Rodri informed them that his decision is to join Barca,” Barquero said.Rodri is out of contract at the Etihad next summer, but City are still thought to be demanding a significant transfer fee, more than the £42million being reported.City are not yet resigned to losing Rodri this summer and could elect to keep the four-time Premier League winner – even if he refuses to sign a new deal. The midfielder, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2024 and the Golden Ball at the 2026 World Cup, is thought to prefer a move to Spain due to family reasons.Rodri is expected to be sidelined for the beginning of the season, wherever that may be, after recently undergoing back surgery.Keep at all costs?City recently signed Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and are expected to land superstar Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.However, talkSPORT host Adam Catterall recently argued that losing Rodri could cost City their shot at regaining the Premier League title. Anderson is City’s latest big-money signingIsaac Parkin / Manchester City FC“There’s a lot of chat about Rodri, at the moment, off the back of his fantastic World Cup (with Spain),” he said.“I know that off the back of his injury last year, he wasn’t at his scintillating best, but the World Cup kind of pointed in the direction that the Ballon d’Or winner is back to his very, very best.“I genuinely believe that if he does go to Real Madrid in this window, that will scupper any chances that Manchester City have of winning the Premier League.“I think he’s that influential. He has to be at City, if City are going to make a Premier League challenge this year.”Ex-Premier League defender Ashley Williams added: “My concern is that they’ve brought in Elliot Anderson and think, ‘We can probably live without Rodri’, but they can’t, I think they need both of them. “I love Elliot Anderson, I think he’s brilliant, he’ll be the future.“But wouldn’t it be great for him to have all that he’s got already and learn off Rodri with the way he plays? And have both of them at least overlapping for a couple of seasons.“At no point would you ever, ever get rid of Rodri, for no amount of money. They could offer me whatever and I wouldn’t sell Rodri.”