Barcelona have finally confirmed the signing of Eric Garcia as the 20-year-old centre-back has been linked to the club for almost a year now. He had come very close to signing for his boyhood club last summer before the talks broke down on deadline day, as well as January this year.
Garcia had spent nine years going through La Masia and had been captain of almost all the Barça youth teams he played in at Camp Nou before moving to Manchester City in 2017. The youngster was also the captain of the U-19 team of Manchester City and, after a triumphant spell with Manchester City, having secured the Premier League winners medal twice, Garcia will finally return to Catalonia.
Manchester City’s boss, Pep Guardiola, rates the young centre-back very highly. When asked about not selecting Garcia due to his refusal to sign a new contract at City, Pep said, “Eric Garcia is like a son. He was a guy last season that after lockdown was our best central defender. He never made a mistake and played in the quarter-final of the Champions League.”
“He’s going to play in Barcelona and that is not an average player – he is a top player. He was not selected in the last two games and it broke my heart. That is why it is difficult for all the managers when you have a squad. You cannot imagine what it means,” added the former Barça player and manager.
Garcia’s story is often seen as a parallel to that of Gerard Pique with the latter also having moved to Manchester after spending seven years in the youth system in Barça. The Barça legend represented Manchester United from 2004-2008 before returning to his home in Barcelona. Many now believe that Garcia will be one to continue the legacy for Pique as his heir-apparent.
Garcia is the second in the list of players that Barcelona will announce in June, immediately after his iconic ex Manchester City teammate and club legend, Sergio Aguero. Joan Laporta has made it clear that more new signings will be following soon to improve the overall strength of the first-team squad.
Garcia will sign a contract until the end of the 2025/26 season, and his buy-out clause is set at 400 million euros.