Barcelona reach agreement with Eric Garcia on five-year deal

Barcelona will continue their spate of contract renewals with Eric Garcia, the latest to reach an agreement with the club. The former Manchester City man is poised to sign a new long-term contract after earning a spot in Hansi Flick’s plans.

Garcia was one of the most talented prospects at La Masia when he left as a teenager for City, where he made his debut, and became a rotational option for Pep Guardiola. At the age of 20, Garcia was out of contract and agreed a deal to return to the Catalan giants, and returning in 2021.

According to Sport, Barcelona and Garcia have already reached an agreement on a new five-year contract that will tie him to the club until 2030. His current deal expires next season, and in January it looked as if he might be leaving the club for a second time, but whether he was playing in midfield, at centre-back or latterly at right-back, Garcia earned Flick’s trust, and become one of the primary alternatives to the starting XI.

They say the German manager had expressly requested that Garcia be kept at the club, as he appreciates the 24-year-old’s versatility and tactical intelligence.

Garcia is set to follow on from Jules Kounde’s renewal, announced by the Frenchman on Wednesday, with Frenkie de Jong due to extend his contract too. The news breaks just days after it was made public that young right-back Hector Fort is up for sale, even if the teenager is reluctant to move on.

This perhaps is no coincidence. With Kounde injured for the Champions League semi-finals, and El Clasico, Garcia did a fine job as his replacement at right-back, and perhaps has convinced Barcelona that he can be the main alternative to Kounde. In the spring, right-back was being cited as one of Barcelona’s priorities in the summer transfer market.