Xavi confirms plans for on-loan Barcelona star to be part of his squad next season | OneFootball

Barcelona head coach Xavi has on Friday confirmed his hopes of a member of the club’s loan army linking back up with his squad for next season.

The player in question? Eric García.

The name of defender García has of course taken its place front and centre in the headlines in Catalunya over the course of recent days.

This comes after the former Manchester City man revealed that, prior to his departure for Girona last summer, Xavi made clear that he wanted García to remain at his disposal.

Speaking in an interview with Diario Sport, the 23-year-old explained:

“That’s right (Xavi didn’t want me to go). It happened on the last day due to a ‘fair play’ issue and I was clear that if I left, it would be to go to Girona.”

Ahead of the impending La Liga showdown between the two clubs this weekend, it therefore came as little surprise when the same subject was put to Barcelona’s headmaster himself.

And Xavi, after confirming García’s version of events, went on to add that his plan is to reintegrate the Spanish international into his ranks for the 2024/25 campaign:

“He had to leave due to fair play issues, but he had room this year and would have helped us.”

“The idea is for him to return to Barça. I didn’t want him to leave.”

Conor Laird | GSFN