Barcelona lose big as Manchester City’s ban gets lifted

Barcelona lose out on major targets after Manchester City ban is lifted

Manchester City had a 2 year UEFA suspension that banned them from Champions League, in addition to a 30 million pounds fine. However, on Monday, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) overturned the ban and reduced the fine to 10 million pounds.

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This comes as catastrophic news for Barcelona, who were hoping to lure Pep Guardiola back to the Spanish League due to the ban. Current Coach, Quique Setien, has been heavily critiqued for quite sometime now for not reflecting much improvement over former Boss, Ernesto Valverde’s squad . His future at the Camp Nou is very uncertain and he may not see until the end of the season.

Former Manager, Guardiola would have been an ideal candidate for the club in these times where heavy restructuring is required on all levels. Guardiola had previously stated that the only way he would consider a move to Barca would be under a new President-ship, which won’t be happening until 2021. Now, the probability of Barca bringing back former Spanish Coach sinks even lower, with him stating he wouldn’t have left Manchester City had they been banned, or even been in League 2.

"“My personal situation was clear. I said a month ago I would stay and it didn’t matter if we were in the Champions League, or like a lot of people here in England suggested, League Two. I would have stayed here.”Source: Goal"

The second blow to Barcelona with the ban lifting comes with the loss of a key signing. Barca had been keen on signing Eric Garica, who is a former La Masia graduate. Talks have been set in motion with City’s sporting director, Txiki Begiristain and Eric’s agent, but they seem to be in troubled waters now as Pep can undoubtedly convince the teenager to stay on, especially with Champions League glory also back on the horizon now.

The talented 19 year old featured in the Spanish giants’ plans of a defensive squad, with him serving as the perfect long term replacement to aging Gerard Pique. As a graduate of the Blaugrana Academy, Eric is well versed with the Barca Philosophy and could play for the first team for years to come if he joins the squad at Camp Nou.

The decision of his move will remain his, but with the ban lifted the former Barca coach could convince him to remain at the Premier League, as he is already preparing for a 5 year contract renewal with his weekly wages getting a huge upgrade. This could mean that Barca could fail to bring the youngster back home as he would obviously wish to develop under Guardiola who will undoubtedly take him to glory in the Premier League.

If the Catalan side are unable to devise a new plan quickly, to potentially replace both the City’s targets, they could lose a lot more in the upcoming UEFA Champions League.

Should Barcelona push hard for Eric Garcia or look for someone else in place of Gerard Pique?