Manchester City are set to sign Spain midfielder Rodri from La Liga for a club record £62.6m after paying his release clause, Atletico Madrid have confirmed.
Atletico said that the player’s lawyers and representatives from City paid the release clause to La Liga on Wednesday.
Rodri, 23, has therefore terminated his contract with Atletico, which was due to run until June 2023.
A statement on Atletico Madrid’s website read:
“La Liga has informed Atlético de Madrid that Rodrigo Hernandez, through his lawyer, and representatives from Manchester City, paid the player’s release clause at the sports association’s headquarters on Wednesday, July 3.
“Manchester City has paid the buyout clause on behalf of the player.
“The player has therefore unilaterally terminated his contract with our club, which ran until June 30, 2023.”
Rodri’s signing will beat City’s previous record of £60m in signing Riyad Mahrez in 2018.
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Rodri joined Atletico in May 2018 after three years at Villarreal and made 34 league appearances as they finished second in La Liga.
He made his international debut in a friendly against Germany last year and has made six senior international appearances.
City had made Rodri one of their main targets this summer with manager Pep Guardiola keen to sign a defensively-minded player to bolster the Premier League champions’ squad.
