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Barcelona Pursues Rodri After €50 million Bid Rejection Arteta Keeps Lewis-Skelly Starter Amid Rice Rotation

8/12/2026

Summary

Barcelona Pursues Rodri

Barcelona are negotiating with Manchester City for Rodri after their €50 million bid was rejected.
City value Rodri at over €70 million and Real Madrid also want him.
Rodri chose Barcelona over Real Madrid for locker-room reasons, signing a four-year contract worth $17 million (€15 million) annually.
Barcelona will offer 19-year-old Marc Bernal an improved contract after his ACL comeback of 33 games and five goals, while weighing youth options to replace Ronald Araújo.

Summary

Arteta Retains Lewis-Skelly

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta kept Myles Lewis-Skelly in the starting XI after his Man of the Match performance in the 3-0 Fulham win.
Midfielder Bruno Guimarães’s £75 million arrival forced a rotation that now pits Lewis-Skelly against midfielder Declan Rice, midfielder Martin Zubimendi and midfielder Mikel Merino.
Retaining Lewis-Skelly gives Arteta flexibility to cover central midfield and left-back as Arsenal juggle four competitions while managing Rice’s heavy minutes load.

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Barcelona Pursues Rodri

Barcelona are negotiating with Manchester City for Rodri after their €50 million bid was rejected.
City value Rodri at over €70 million and Real Madrid also want him.
Rodri chose Barcelona over Real Madrid for locker-room reasons, signing a four-year contract worth $17 million (€15 million) annually.
Barcelona will offer 19-year-old Marc Bernal an improved contract after his ACL comeback of 33 games and five goals, while weighing youth options to replace Ronald Araújo.

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