“Didn’t expect him to go there” – Espanyol star reacts to Joan Garcia move to bitter rivals Barcelona | OneFootball

Earlier this summer, Barcelona completed the signing of goalkeeper Joan Garcia from city neighbours Espanyol. The 24-year-old, who has penned a six-year contract at his new club, is expected to be the starting goalkeeper for Hansi Flick’s side this season, replacing Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Wojciech Szczesny in the pecking order.

Understandably, there was a lot of reaction from the Espanyol side to Garcia joining their bitter rivals. Fans were far from pleased, but defender Omar El Hilali has taken a more pragmatic approach in his response to the matter. Speaking to MD, he gave his thoughts on his former teammate’s move across the city.

“It’s going to sound very typical, but everyone is free to choose what’s best for them. I didn’t expect him to go there. Mostly because other teams were in for him, Barça didn’t make a move until the final three days. It became official very quickly. I know that I wouldn’t go there, but everyone is free to do what they want. If he considered that going to Barça is the best thing for him, I’m happy for him.”

Image via RCDE

Barcelona have high hopes for Garcia

Originally, Barcelona had not planned to sign a new goalkeeper, with the idea being for Ter Stegen and Szczesny to be the first team options. But understandably, the club believed that Garcia was a market opportunity, which is easy to see given his performances for Espanyol last season.

Garcia has performed well for Barcelona during pre-season, but as things stand, he will not be able to feature for the Catalans during the upcoming 2025-26 campaign. He is one of six players that the club are hoping to register before the end of the summer, and at this stage, he is priority number one to be done in time for the match against Mallorca in 10 days’ time.