Manchester City claimed a new trophy under Pep Guardiola after beating Tottenham in the English League Cup Final last weekend. Shortly after the game, it was unveiled that Barcelona could land one of their players, asides from the possibility of joining Sergio Aguero with Lionel Messi. The Citizens are having a great season ruling in the Premier League and still alive in the Champions League, in which they hope to finally lift the highly-desired prize.
Following the hard-fought win to be crowned in the Carabao Cup, the Spaniard coach talked in a press conference and addressed many topics. After all the hype for the triumph, Guardiola took many by surprise when referring to the future of one of his players.
The former Barcelona boss opened up on the situation of an important member of his squad, who has been highly praised by the manager before confirming he won't stay with the Sky Blues and that his next destination could be the Camp Nou.
Guardiola regrets seeing 'one of his favorites' leaving
While the Sky Blues were shining on the pitch, some big names have been missing most of the action lately. Pep Guardiola was asked about it, and he referred to Eric García's situation. The young center back earned a spot in the starting eleven last season, but in the current one, he barely saw the field.
Since he turned down offers to renew his contract, which expires in June, the defender lost his place in the team despite his remarkable performances. City's coach confessed that García would be also close to signing with his former team:
"I would say Eric García is one of my favorites players. I would love to have 15 'Eric Garcías' for his behavior. He's always thinking in the team, always with a good face in good moments and bad moments. He will go to an incredible team, but when people say they are unsatisfied I don't play them. Most of the time Eric is not on the bench because he is going to move to Barcelona, I hope so," he said.
As Guardiola stated, Eric García would be returning where he made his first steps as a soccer player. He belonged to the Catalans' Academy for nine years between 2008 and 2017 until Manchester City acquired him. In a couple of months, he will become a free agent and the Cules would secure him without paying any transfer fee.
García's first appearances with the Citizens' first team were impressive but he will be leaving them shortly after that breakthrough. Barcelona is looking forward to upgrading the defense and they probably found a great candidate in one of their own, who already proved to be capable of performing in the top level.
The 20-year-old took part in 13 games in the 2019/20 season, in which he overcame a tough head injury. This campaign didn't saw him featuring very much though, as he only played in four games so far, and the last one was in March. From then on, García wasn't even called up as a substitute on many occasions. Hopefully, he and Barcelona will meet again for the best of both.
