Barcelona set to wait for the Manchester City defender to become a free agent.
Despite reports that Barcelona were seeking to bring in Eric Garcia during the winter transfer window, the club have decided to wait until his contract runs out.
That decision came about following the meeting between Carles Tusquets and the three presidential candidates.
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According to Sport, Joan Laporta was one of the candidates opposed to bringing Garcia in now and cited the club’s financial woes as to why a move at the moment was impossible.
He also pointed out the fact that it would be more prudent to wait because he would be a free agent come the summer. Therefore, Barcelona would not need to pay a transfer fee to Manchester City.
Another presidential candidate, Toni Freixa, was also opposed to the signing.
"“He [Eric Garcia] wants to come to Barcelona and that is why he hasn’t renewed with his club. The best thing would be for him to come on June 30 when he’s free,” Freixa said.“It was an act of responsibility to say no now because a transfer fee of 8 or 10 million had to be paid.”Source: Sport"
Victor Font, the third presidential candidate, was open to the idea of negotiation with Manchester City but in the end, saw himself outvoted by Laporta and Freixa.
Not being able to bring in Garcia is a consequence of the presidential elections being postponed. Had they gone ahead as scheduled, the new board would have had about a week to negotiate if they wanted to bring him in.
On the other hand, it always made more sense to wait until the summer because Barcelona then would only have to pay for the player’s salary. Fortunately for the Catalans, they already have a deal in place with Garcia.
As Freixa said, Garcia wants to come to Barcelona and has rejected offers to renew his contract at City. He was also willing to wait until the summer as well.
For now, manager Ronald Koeman is going to have to make do with Oscar Mingueza, Ronald Araujo, Clement Lenglet, and Samuel Umtiti. The two former Barça B center-backs have already proven they have what it takes to compete and have seemingly earned Koeman’s trust.