Barcelona set to miss out on first summer signing as agreement expires

A few weeks ago, Barcelona reached a verbal agreement to secure their first signing of the summer transfer window, that being Guido Rodriguez. The Argentine pivot is out of contract at Real Betis, and although he looked set to heading to Catalonia, he could now be moving elsewhere.

🚨 Pablo Gavi is key for Hansi Flick partly because of his aggressiveness. Flick thinks he can play more advanced or be at the base of the midfield and partner up with Frenkie de Jong as one of the two pivots. @sport 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/yUfqE0lJSm

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 1, 2024

Recently, it was reported that the agreement between Barcelona and Rodriguez lasted until the 31st of May. If a contract wasn’t signed by then, the latter would be able to walk away and speak to other clubs. That is exactly what will happen now, as no pre-contract was signed, as reported by MD.

Rodriguez was to be Oriol Romeu’s replacement in the Barcelona first team, but now they could have to look elsewhere. Atletico Madrid are interested in securing his services as a low-cost signing.

🚨🇦🇷 Guido Rodríguez returns to Atlético Madrid’s orbit. Starting tomorrow, he will be free to accept an offer other than Barcelona’s.

[🥇: @JaviGomara, @mundodeportivo] pic.twitter.com/frdiE9AATW

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) May 31, 2024

It appears that new manager Hansi Flick was unconvinced by the possible signing of Rodriguez, hence why the plug has been pulled by Barcelona. With Romeu still set to leave, it will be interesting to see who is brought in instead.