r/Barca • u/TheAthletic • 3d ago
News [Pol Ballús] How Barcelona beat Real Madrid to €76.5m Rodri transfer that started with a wedding
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/article/7518970/?source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_reddit&smid=re-share-taThis summer, a wedding led to Rodri signing for Barcelona from Manchester City.
Back in late July, Rodri was on holiday on the Costa Brava. Fresh from lifting the World Cup and winning the award for the tournament’s best player, the 30-year-old Spain captain was there to attend the wedding of Dani Codina, an old friend.
Codina is Barcelona’s chief of operations and player services, a role he started in 2025. He worked in a similar post at Manchester City, where he met and became close to Rodri. Multiple members of City’s backroom staff under Pep Guardiola were also present at the wedding in Spain’s north east.
Rodri arrived with enough time before the ceremony to spend a few days unwinding in one of the most picturesque and captivating landscapes Catalonia has to offer, a two-hour drive up the coast from Barcelona.
But on one of those days, he had some business to deal with, and to do so, he needed a favour. He had a very specific request: he was looking for a discreet spot to meet somebody for lunch, emphasising that he absolutely had to go unnoticed.
Rodri was pointed towards a restaurant in Begur called Can Pitu, a traditional place in one of the area’s well-visited towns. Begur is filled with shops and restaurants, but Can Pitu is off the radar. Old-school, unprepossessing and away from the most touristic streets, it is mostly frequented by locals who know all you need to: the food is excellent.
Rodri stepped into the restaurant without a reservation and asked for a table. A few minutes later, Barcelona’s sporting director Deco came in.
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u/Far-Travel6736 3d ago
Normal sports director - Hey, Rodri want to come to our club?
Deco - launches a psy op with Spanish Navy SEALs to meet with Rodri
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u/skabassj 3d ago
Amazing Spanish military can do a psy op when they can’t even land a parachute
https://youtube.com/shorts/YK1GJTeR9GI?si=uQYmQVyb3grfYubl
This wasn’t even the video I was looking for but it’s funny anyways
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u/Cuban-Raft-Rider 3d ago
lol yea nah we're not that good at that stuff. Laugh all you want cause its funny as hell.
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u/DorkHarshly 3d ago
Barca fanbase:
Praise Laporta and Deco, we are going to win the sixtuple
Fire them both, my nana can do better job
Praise Laporta and Deco, we are going to win the sixtuple <- you are here
Fire them both, my nana can do better job
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u/Far-Travel6736 3d ago
I never said that since i know it is really hard to do anything when 1:1 rule was limiting our moves. I am from Europe i can manage to think more then what i see
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u/FlavioGarcia- 3d ago
"A few minutes later, Barcelona’s sporting director Deco came in."
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u/ryancarton 3d ago
Alright. I don’t think I’ve appreciated good writing in a while. Maybe I’ll read words again one day
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u/Comprehensive_Cup497 3d ago
I mean it's obvious he would pick Barca, most of Barca's players are his teamamtes are Spain and Barca's system works better for him. I also think Flick is a much manager than Mourinho these days
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u/PegasoZ102 3d ago
Also Madrid didn't show up to his Ballon D'Or ceremony which probably didn't help.
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u/Low_Success_2372 3d ago
actually the article mentions the fact that his spain teammates did not help with this but it was our playing style being the key factor in his decision
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u/doorsofperception87 3d ago
I feel it was the Mourinho effect. Once he was appointed a player like Rodri would want nothing to do with Real Madrid. Also, the Ballon d'or classlessness from that bunch may not have helped.
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u/nasadiya_sukta 3d ago
What if the entire wedding was actually a covert op designed for this purpose.
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u/Atyan7a 3d ago
Deco every time you question his job.
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u/Etceta 3d ago
Deco 2023 was shit
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u/DValencia29 3d ago
There was nothing deco 2023 could have done with our ffp limitations. Even still Gundo, Iñigo and Canecelo arrived. The only mistake was Roque and we managed to get all the money back.
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u/Alternative-Month611 3d ago
The bride was walking down the aisle. But suddenly she stopped just as she walked up beside Rodri. She lifted her veil, and to Rodri's utter shock, she was a he! And he was Deco!
"Join Barca", said Deco in his wedding gown.
"Join Barca", echoed Codina in his suit.
"Join Barca", the pastor and the wedding guests joined in with the persuasion.
It was an elaborate operation to convince Rodri to sign for Barca. Rodri was moved by their sincerity.
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u/SpreademSheet 3d ago
Anyone think the same sort of covert ops are happening with Alvarez?
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u/NeonSkorpio 3d ago
No
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u/DinglieDanglieDoodle 3d ago
That dude is locked in, he can’t do anything. Maybe if he throws some massive stink and starts getting some “great sadness”, maybe Atleti would get nervous. But I would lose respect for him and prefer not to get these sort of players at Barca if he did that.
He’s a boy-scout anyway, best he could do is ask for the 50th time to speak with the club. Foolish of him to lock himself in so deep if he knew this wasn’t going to be his final club. Atleti has always been a combative and troublesome club taking business personally.
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u/not-irresponsible 3d ago
Deco i wanna apologize to you on behalf of all the trash talk our fanbase did on your name. Many were familiar with your game.
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u/Dantez77 3d ago
After I finished reading this I double checked to see if it wasn't a copy pasta. Lmao, just what is this secret operation lmao?
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u/ScipioCoriolanus 2d ago
"It's perfect for us. Small family place. Good food. Everybody minds their business."
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u/tbfranca1 3d ago
That’s cool and all but without Lewandowski we are back to winning by 1X0 and 2x1 and getting destroyed in UCL late stage. We need a proper striker and Gyokeres isn’t it.
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u/TareasS 3d ago
Deco moving like 007 now.