Barcelona Sporting Director on defender – ‘I dont know if he will continue’ | OneFootball

Barcelona defender Eric Garcia was arguably the player that came closest to leaving the club in the January transfer window, with interest from a number of clubs. However the 24-year-old elected to remain as part of Hansi Flick’s side, and has seen good game time since.

Garcia had interest from the likes of Real Sociedad, Girona or Como in Serie, with the latter two willing to put €7m on the table for the Spain international. However Flick reportedly stepped in to halt the exit, feeling that he could be useful both in defence and in midfield between now and the end of the season. He has now started in four of their last five matches.

However with less than 18 months left on his contract, his future beyond the summer is a different matter, as Sporting Director Deco made clear.

“I repeat. Every player has his own story and his own contract. Eric is a player who grew a lot last season at Girona. The Eric that the clubs wanted this season is not the Eric who left here a year earlier. He is a much more rounded player, much more mature. He has a lot of self-confidence, he has become an Olympic champion. He is 23 years old and is reaching his maturity. He has one more year of contract with us, the relationship with his agent is very good. I think we have to go little by little.”

Image via Cordon Press

“In a season there are moments, sometimes a player feels valued and other times, not. Now he is in a good moment, but we don’t know if he will continue. I think so because I think he has the capacity to reach a great level and then he has to want to continue at Barca. Once this is over, he is surely a player that we want to count on, but I don’t think now is the time yet,” Deco told Sport.

Garcia is one of a number of central defenders with uncertain futures, as Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo also potentially departing. Equally, Barcelona have reportedly been in talks with Jonathan Tah to sign the German on a free this summer. Garcia’s future will likely depend on the kind of role he wants, and the circumstances with Christensen and Araujo.