Eric Garcia’s future at Manchester City has been uncertain for the longest time as his deal is up in 2021 and he rejected a contract extension in the past, but it does appear he’ll be a Barcelona player next season.
The Catalans have long wanted Garcia back to the Camp Nou and the 20-year-old is open to a return, but presidential candidate Joan Laporta, who held the role between 2003-2010, says a deal won’t go through until he’s a free agent in July.
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Garcia joined City from Barca in 2017 and has gone on to make 30 appearances in all competitions. The Spanish international hasn’t managed to nail down a starting place, however, and currently finds himself behind John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake in the pecking order.
And although Guardiola has praised Garcia in the past, calling him a “clever” defender, he’s only handed him seven appearances from a possible 27 this season. As a result, the 20-year-old wants out but will have to see out his contract before Barca will come calling.
Laporte revealed in a press conference: “We cannot give a letter of nature to the Management Board to make decisions. We have concluded that if he is a player who ends his contract, we must wait. Now we had to pay the transfer plus the footballer’s salary.”
Barca aren’t short of centre-backs with Clement Lenglet, Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo and Samuel Umtiti at their disposal, but clearly they feel Garcia is good enough to progress.
In other news, Manchester City won’t sign Adama Traore despite reports