Sergio Busquets Reveals Manchester City’s Rodri Could Replace Him at Barcelona

In a week that has seen comparisons drawn between Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team of 2009 and his Manchester City team of 2023, much has been said about the midfields. The former was powered by the likes of Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta while Lionel Messi played in front of the trio.

At Manchester City the midfield is anchored by Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne. Not only is the trio the nucleus of a team playing some of the best football ever witnessed on the continent, they are about to take City to the pinnacle of success that will write the club’s name in gold in the history books and change the club forever.

With Rodri in particular also playing a pivotal role in the Spanish national team, it’s not surprising that he is attracting admirers back home. As recently revealed by departing Barcelona midfield great Sergio Busquets, the City man is one of the options that could replace him at Camp Nou.

When asked in an interview with Mundo Deportivo about possible candidates that could fill the void he has left behind, Busquets said:

“I know there’s a lot of talk about players, about Rodri, about Zubimendi. They are very good players and perhaps the ones that most match the DNA and the style that is wanted here but they are in another team, they belong to another club,”

If Busquets is in any way echoing Barcelona’s thoughts, they could be far from being achievable as it will be very difficult to prise Rodri away from Manchester City. For such an important player to both Pep Guardiola and City, the club will not let him go on a cheap, if at all it will even consider selling him.

Worse still for the Catalan side is that the club has been struggling to balance the books of late and signing players who could cost upwards of £80 million is rather unrealistic for now. And there is no chance of getting him on the cheap in the next couple of years, or for free as the player’s deal at the Etihad Stadium runs until 2027.

So Barcelona can have the 26-year-old in their wish list. But the chances of the Spaniard leaving Manchester City in the near future, especially to join the Blaugrana, are slim to say the least.