New Barcelona arrival set to complete contract signing today – Romano

Barcelona are now just a step away from officially landing Joan Garcia, with the goalkeeper’s agents arriving in the city today to complete the final formalities. 

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Blaugrana will pay the €25 million release clause, plus a CPI (Consumer Price Index) adjustment, directly to La Liga today. 

Once that is processed, Garcia will sign a five-year contract and begin a new chapter at Camp Nou.

This move has been in the pipeline for days. In fact, the deal has been fully agreed between the player and the club for nearly a week. All necessary paperwork has already been drafted and reviewed since last Friday. 

Now, with the clause set to be activated, the transfer will enter its final stage, allowing Garcia to officially become a Barça player at the beginning of July.

Espanyol refused talks with Barcelona

It must be noted that once the Catalan giants’ interest in Garcia became public, tensions began to rise.

Espanyol took a firm stance and made it clear they would not engage in direct negotiations with Barcelona for the player.

Instead, they stated that the only acceptable way for the move to happen would be for Barça to activate Garcia’s €25 million release clause, with the CPI adjustment included. 

That payment is expected to be made today through La Liga, bypassing the need for any club-to-club discussions.

Unsurprisingly, this switch has not been received well by Espanyol fans. Seeing one of their key players move directly to their fiercest local rival has only fuelled the rivalry further.

With everything in place and Garcia’s camp now in Barcelona, it is only a matter of time before the transfer is officially sealed. 

Once confirmed, Joan Garcia will begin his new journey under Hansi Flick as part of Barcelona’s long-term project.