Details of Man City and Barcelona negotiations last Summer revealed – as club prepares second bid in January | OneFootball

Barcelona have made Manchester City defender Eric Garcia a ‘priority’ in the January transfer window due to Gerard Pique’s injury, reports Goal correspondent Ignasi Oliva.

Meanwhile, Spanish publication Sport – as relayed by SportWitness – have revealed the details of the discussions the two clubs held last summer on deadline day, which ultimately ended with City rejecting Barcelona’s efforts to resign the defender.

Barcelona veteran Pique sustained ligament damage in the recent La Liga defeat at Atletico Madrid. The injury could see the Spaniard miss up to six months of action, which has made the signing of Garcia much more urgent.

That means a deal in January is more likely, rather than the City centre back leaving for free next summer.

Sport say that in the original discussions between the two sides, on deadline day City were willing to do a deal for €10m fixed plus €10m in variables that would begin to be paid in the 2021/22 season until 2024.

Barcelona were willing to pay €10m fixed plus €8m in variables – however, the latter would mostly have been contingent upon Garcia winning the Champions League while at Barcelona. City refused the offer.

That concluded what Sport characterise as ‘frantic [negotiations] throughout the day’ between City and Barcelona.

It’s possible now that both clubs regret their stubbornness, as Barcelona would have Garcia already at their disposal amid defensive issues, and City would have received a larger sum for a player who has barely featured this season and with John Stones a more than capable option too.

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