Rodri Has Not Been Announced Yet, but His Number Is Already Waiting. Fermin Takes the No. 7 Shirt
FC Barcelona have yet to officially announce the signing of Rodri, but preparations for his arrival appear to be well underway inside the dressing room. Fabrizio Romano reports that the Manchester City midfielder asked to wear No. 16, the number associated with him at both club and international level.
The shirt previously belonged to Fermín López. According to Romano, the two players discussed the matter in recent days, with the Barcelona academy graduate set to take the No. 7 shirt vacated by Ferran Torres following his move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The first change can already be seen. Fermín is listed as Barcelona’s No. 7 on LaLiga’s official website. Rodri has not even been presented yet, but his potential place in the dressing room is being prepared earlier than some of Barcelona’s registration paperwork. In Catalonia, it is always wise to begin with the tasks that do not require a salary-limit calculator.
For Fermín, the switch means inheriting one of the club’s most recognisable numbers. Ferran wore it most recently, while David Villa, Pedro Rodríguez and Henrik Larsson are among the players associated with the shirt in previous years. It also reflects the growing status of the 23-year-old in Hansi Flick’s squad.
Rodri, meanwhile, is expected to keep the number he has worn at Manchester City. The No. 16 shirt also has some history at Barcelona: Sergio Busquets wore it during the early part of his first-team career before eventually switching to No. 5.
The Guardian reports that Manchester City have accepted a £65.4 million bid from Barcelona. Neither club has officially announced the transfer, however, meaning the No. 16 shirt can only be described as being prepared for Rodri at this stage.
Barcelona are therefore dealing with the smaller details of one of the summer’s biggest transfers before completing the public formalities. The player has not been unveiled and the contract has not been shown, but his shirt number already appears to have been settled. Now come the medical, the signature and the registration — the final word being the one that has ruined a few carefully prepared Barcelona welcomes in the past.
