Manchester City preparing €60m offer for Barcelona star: report

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gestures during the FA Cup fifth round match against Plymouth Argyle at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on 1 March, 2025
Pep Guardiola is believed to rate the Barcelona man highly (Image credit: Alamy)

Manchester City are looking to bolster their midfield with a talented youngster from Barcelona.

The Sky Blues have done work in this area already with moves for Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders, but feel they could use another new face.

At Barcelona, they believe they’ve spotted the ideal candidate.

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The Catalan side are blessed in the centre of the pitch, with the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Casado, Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez to call upon.

They are, however, not as gifted in their accounts department, with their financial outlook, as ever, uncertain.

Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring Barcelona's fourth goal against Valencia in La Liga in January 2025.

Fermin Lopez's position at Barca is uncertain amid intense competition (Image credit: Getty Images)

That may lead them to consider a sale for the last on that list, Lopez, with City ready to offer €60m for the player, according to El Nacional.

Lopez is believed to be targeting the 2026 World Cup and does not want a repeat of the season he’s just had, where he made just 12 La Liga starts for Barca.

City boss Pep Guardiola is reported to have personally requested the signing, valuing the player’s work rate, ability on the ball and goal threat.

The midfielder’s contract was only extended towards the end of last year, running until 2029, but, according to the same report, is open to exploring his options already if a suitable opportunity comes in, and his place at Barca still looks uncertain.

Spain 2024 Olympics squad Spain's forward #25 Fermin Lopez and Spain's midfielder #15 Alex Baena warm up ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B football match between Albania and Spain at the Duesseldorf Arena in Duesseldorf on June 24, 2024. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Lopez has his Spain place in mind with a World Cup on the horizon (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, with Barca never far from financial trouble and bursting with players who can fill Lopez’s role, it seems a no-brainer to cash in.

Letting a homegrown player will hurt, especially with how highly-regarded their La Masia setup is in the city, but it makes little sense to hoard a player with an uncertain path to first-team minutes.

That doesn’t mean they should shift him out at the first sign of an offer, but if a deal is present that matches their valuation of the player, they should probably look to take it.

Lopez is valued at €50m, according to Transfermarkt.

Isaac Stacey Stronge
Freelance Writer

Isaac Stacey Stronge is a freelance football writer working for FourFourTwo, Manchester United and Football League World. He has been a season ticket holder at Stockport County throughout the Hatters’ meteoric rise from the National League North to League One and is a die-hard Paddy Madden fan.

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