Pep Guardiola has announced that Manchester City centre-back prospect Eric Garcia does not want to sign a new contract. The Spanish youth international is about to enter the final year of his contract in Manchester, but the Barcelona-born defender has heard the call from home and looks to have his mind set on returning to Barcelona.
Eric Garcia Refuses Contract Extension at Manchester City
Guardiola Confirms Garcia’s Desires
Manchester City’s most exciting young prospect may now be on the move. Pep Guardiola admitted in his press conference ahead of the Champions League game against Real Madrid that Eric Garcia has refused to sign a new contract.
“(Eric Garcia) announced to us he doesn’t want to extend his contract with City, he has one more year and then after that, he doesn’t want to extend,” he said.
“We wanted to but he doesn’t want to. We imagine he wants to play in another place.”
Garcia had really excelled for City following the Premier League restart. The 19-year-old had overtaken veterans Fernandinho and Nicolas Otamendi as Guardiola’s preferred starter. He could still start the game against Real Madrid on Friday. However, it’s his future that is the most interesting.
Garcia is Barcelona-born and a former La Masia captain from the ages of eight to 14. He moved to Manchester City to work with Pep Guardiola and earn some playing time in the first-team. However, it looks like he will return to the Catalan giants.
They have a policy of preventing players from leaving for free, so it would be likely that they will negotiate with Barcelona. However, the La Liga giants are strapped for cash. Just the details of recent deals involving the sale of Arthur Melo and Jasper Cilissen confirm this.
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