Conflicting reports emerge on Joan Garcia signing for Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona have reportedly agreed a deal with Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia for the 24-year-old to join this summer, and plan to pay up his €25m release clause. His lawyer was seen at Barcelona’s Ciutat Esportiva offices on Tuesday, and he has decided to go ahead with a switch to Los Pericos’ crosstown rivals.

It was thought that Barcelona would be depositing his release clause on Wednesday, but several conflicting reports have emerged regarding his contract and the timing of the signing. El Chiringuito claim that Garcia has already penned his Barcelona contract, despite the fact he was not seen at the club yesterday, and his contract will be five years long.

Joan Garcia contract length

Yet on Wednesday morning MD reported that Barcelona had agreed to add an extra year onto the end of the deal, making it a contract until 2031. They say that it aids Barcelona in terms of their financial fair play, and that the terms of the deal have been improved slightly to correspond to the extra commitment. However it should be noted that the maximum length of contract that a club can spread the cost of a deal over is five years in La Liga.

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Major salary increase on the horizon

Meanwhile Sport say that Garcia is set to multiply his salary at Espanyol many times over. The 24-year-old, who only became a starter for Espanyol a little over 15 months ago, was earning €300k gross per annum (€150k net). Their information is that his new deal at Barcelona will earn him around €3m gross, an increase of ten times his current salary, and that figure does not include bonuses.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen wages

Recently details of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s wages have also been leaked, as Barcelona try to ease the German goalkeeper towards the door. The 33-year-old has three years left on his deal, and is set to earn at least €42m from his remaining contract, an average of €14m per annum. The comparison, nearly €10m difference, certainly makes an impact on the Blaugrana accounts.