Barcelona have made a strong play for the crown jewel of rivals Espanyol, goalkeeper Joan Garcia, and it appears they are close to pulling off an unlikely deal. The Blaugrana have been pushing for his signature over the last two weeks, and seemingly persuaded Garcia to make the switch.
The deal with Espanyol itself was never going to be an issue, be it for Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Barcelona or any of his other suitors. Garcia has a €25m release clause, and Los Pericos are demanding that the full clause be paid for his services. Something Barcelona plan to do as soon as they wrap up a deal with Garcia himself.
Joan Garcia has a major decision to make.
Image via Cordon Press
Joan Garcia gives green light to Barcelona
According to several sources, Garcia has now approved a move to Espanyol’s crosstown rivals. On Monday it was reported that Arsenal had dropped out of the race, with City seemingly their strongest competitors. The 24-year-old’s agents, who have close links with Barcelona had already agreed terms on a five-year contract.
🚨 EXCLUSIVA @10JoseAlvarez 🚨
✅ "JOAN GARCÍA le ha dado el 'SÍ' al BARÇA".
🤝 "Será jugador culé en las próximas horas y firmará 5 temporadas". pic.twitter.com/PaVhDZFKeH
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) June 2, 2025
As per Santi Aouna and Jose Alvarez of El Chiringuito, Garcia has given the green light to a move to Barcelona. As per the latter, Newcastle United had agreed a deal with Garcia, but he asked to wait to see how things played out with the Blaugrana.