Manchester City defender Eric Garcia has insisted he is ‘grateful’ to those in charge of the club amid continued speculation about a move to Barcelona.
The Spanish centre back was heavily linked with a return to the Camp Nou this summer, with Barcelona seeing several offers rejected by City.
The transfer window ended with him staying at the Etihad, but that has not ended speculation about a transfer, with it widely felt he could end up moving in January.
Indeed there have been reports from Spain that Barcelona already have a deal in place for next summer when Garcia will be able to join on a free transfer and are planning to strong-arm Manchester City into agreeing a cheap deal because of his contract situation.
Whether that happens remains to be seen, but when asked about the speculation, he refused to comment.
“The only thing I can say is that I am a Manchester City player,” El Mundo report him saying.
“I have a contract, and I am very grateful because they were the ones who bet on me.
Part of Barcelona’s attraction to 19-year-old Garcia is his ability to play out from the back, with the young defender very much from the modern school of defenders.
This is something that’s been heavily developed under Guardiola’s leadership, with the City boss well know for his love of ball-playing defenders.
He, though, insists that first and foremost he is a defender and he is not scared of mixing things up if necessary.
“My function is to defend, if you have to kick, you do it,” he added.
“If you have to give a kick, it is done. If you have to go out with the ball, it is done. If you have to clear, it’s done.
“It’s true that I like to go out with the ball played, also because in the clubs where I’ve been I’ve had to do it, but my first mission is to defend.”
