Manchester City to beat Bayern Munich for next Busquets

Bengaluru, June 22: Pep Guardiola's Manchester City has seen off competition from his former club Bayern Munich to the signing of Rodri, according to reports.

The Cityzens have reportedly agreed a deal earlier this week to play a club-record fee for the Atletico Madrid midfielder. The 22-year-old is seen as the long-term replacement for Fernandinho, who turned 34 in May, and would prefer to work alongside Guardiola.

The £62.5m transfer fee will make him the second most expensive Spaniard after Kepa Arrizabalaga. According to reports in Germany, Bayern Munich were very interested in a new No. 6 to sit at the base of their midfield and wanted Rodri for that role. But their last-ditch attempt to lure him to the Bundesliga appears to have failed as City close in on completing a deal for the six-cap star.

At first, he will learn the ropes of the Premier League with Fernandinho before succeeding him in Guardiola's side. Rodri has been compared to Barcelona great Sergio Busquets and ends a long hunt for the Etihad club.

Fred, Tanguy Ndombele, Frenkie de Jong, Ruben Neves and Declan Rice were all on the list of candidates but now Rodri is the top target and City look set to get their man. Rodri came through the academy at Atletico Madrid but in 2013 left to Villarreal, progressing through to become an established first-team star.

He is a reserved kind of a person which reflects from him being not into tattoos and not dealing with social media. As he broke through into the Villarreal first team, he was studying Business Studies and Economics at the Universidad de Castellon in eastern Spain.

Rodri rejected the chance to live in a plush apartment and instead opted for shared accommodation before stepping out on to La Liga pitches around the country at the weekend. Under Pep, he might well become the next Sergio Busquets who was also mentored by the former Barcelona manager.