As is the case with most deals involving young players these days, Manchester City’s decision to sell Manu García to Sporting Gijón was one full of stipulations.
García left the Etihad in a £4m deal this summer, having failed to break through into the first-team under Pep Guardiola.
It appears that City still have faith he could develop into a player they want, though, as they ensured they had an option to bring him back to the club in future for the next two years.
That was confirmed by Sporting’s president Miguel Torrecilla earlier this month, but it seems there are more stipulations to the deal than a simple repurchase option.
Cadena COPE provide the lowdown on the deal today and confirm that such an option was included in the agreement between Sporting and Manchester City.
However, they contradict Torrecilla and state that City have an option on García for the next three years. However, they can only activate this clause in the summer transfer window, meaning Sporting can never lose García mid-way through a season.
The amount that City would pay to get García back varies and is dependant on what division Sporting are playing in at the time. They are currently in the Segunda Division and will have to pay Manchester City €2m if they are ever promoted.
It’s not mentioned what ballpark that price is, although COPE say it would be ‘in exchange for a high economic amount’.
Should there be other interested parties in García, Sporting have to communicate this to City, as they have the first refusal on the midfielder.
The newspaper explains that in theory, they could activate his clause, take him back to the Etihad and then sell him on to a third party.
At the minute, though, Sporting are not worried about losing the player in the short term. As well as having him tied to a contract until 2024, he also has a release clause that ‘would limit the actions of interested clubs’.
Still, should he continue to impress as he has done at the beginning of this season, it seems Manchester City will have every option to take him back or make another tidy profit on a player they don’t have a place for. Either will suit them perfectly.
