Insistence not to ‘give one Euro to Manchester City’ – Transfer situation getting tense

Manchester City were successful in retaining Eric García after Barcelona failed to meet their demands to sanction his transfer last summer.

The 20-year-old’s contract runs down at the end of this season and he’s decided against signing an extension at the Etihad.

He continues to be a target for the La Liga side, but it’s not clear whether Ronald Koeman’s club can take the defender in January or have to wait until the summer.

Today’s edition of Mundo Deportivo provides an update on the Citizens stance on the centre-back and also Barcelona’s possibility of signing him in the winter market.

It’s claimed Pep Guardiola’s side are willing to sell the Spain international to the Catalan club immediately for a fixed fee of €5m plus an additional €5m in variables.

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The Camp Nou side are without a president and the election to pick a new candidate is set to take place later this month.

There are reports indicating the election is unlikely to be held before the January window closes. Should that happen, president of the managing committee Carles Tusquets will take approval from the presidential candidates before making any new signings.

Joan Laporta, Victor Font, Emili Rousaud and Toni Freixa are the candidates. Mundo gives an update on each of their stance of signing the City player this month.

Freixa insists Barca should ‘not to give one Euro to Manchester City’ and continue to bet on the youngsters from the academy. However, if Koeman insists on García’s immediate arrival and Tusquets can find an ‘economically viable’ operation, Freixa will not oppose it.

Font is in favour of García’s signing this month, but wants Barcelona to negotiate ‘better conditions’ with the Premier League side so that the player arrives for a ‘better price’.

Regarding Laporta, Mundo state: ‘Laporta is opposed to the manager closing this signing because he believes it would be an “excess of his functions” and does not seem correct. And furthermore, he believes that the candidates do not have the power to empower the board to carry out these operations.’

Rousaud echoes Laporta’s stance and wants the sporting director picked by Barca’s new management to make decisions on signing new players.

In other words, the presidential candidates are divided over the potential arrival of García in January and the rumoured election delay will only make the transfer situation around the Manchester City defender more tense.