Barcelona’s pursuit of Joan Garcia and the complicated goalkeeper scenario it could unleash

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Barcelona are working to seal their first piece of transfer business this summer.

They want to make Espanyol’s Joan Garcia their new starting goalkeeper. Garcia, who’s arguably been the best in his position in La Liga last season, has a €25million ($28.4m) release clause in his contract and is expected to leave his current club before the end of the transfer window.

Barca feel Garcia is a clear one-off market opportunity at this price. Sporting director Deco and manager Hansi Flick had spoken in previous weeks about wanting to sign a new winger for their team, but Garcia is expected to make a decision about his future sooner rather than later — so Barcelona have had to make up their minds quickly.

They have been in contact with the player’s camp and have laid the foundations of a five-year deal. Now it is all in Garcia’s hands. The 24-year-old has to choose his next club — and he is not short of options.

Last summer, Arsenal came very close to signing Garcia but were not able to reach an agreement with Espanyol. As much as Mikel Arteta’s team still rate him highly, last season has changed Garcia’s priorities: he wants to be the No 1 option wherever he moves to.

At Arsenal, with Premier League Golden Glove winner David Raya established between the posts, it is highly unlikely Garcia would immediately get a starting role, so the prospect of moving to north London has cooled.

Other Premier League clubs have shown interest. Newcastle have been monitoring Garcia this season, although it’s understood he’s not their priority target. Bournemouth are known to rate him highly too, while Manchester City have been following Garcia but are not expected to start formal talks anytime soon.

“I am very calm,” said Joan Garcia last week, when asked about his future by local radio Catalunya Radio. “There is a lot of news coming out about me, but we’ve just finished the season and I want to rest a bit. From there, I will discuss my options with my people and decide what’s best for me.”

Once the decision is made, there is no need to even table an offer: the buying club would simply need to go to La Liga’s headquarters in Madrid and pay the €25m release clause.

Garcia was one of the most consistent goalkeepers in La Liga in 2024-25 (Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images)

A succession plan in goal is clearly required at Barcelona, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen (33) and Wojciech Szczesny (35) in the autumns of their respective careers — and Inaki Pena set to leave in summer.

There are some promising goalkeepers in La Masia, with American international Diego Kochen being a stand-out candidate. The 19-year-old has played with Barca Atletic this season, and is expected to be more involved with the first team in 2025-26.

But adding a first-choice goalkeeper is a task that Deco knew he was going to have to resolve at some point in the next few years. With Joan Garcia, Barca are trying to do exactly that.

Club sources, who, like all mentioned in this article, wanted to remain anonymous to protect relationships, believe that any elite side who go after a new goalkeeper, in current market conditions, could be forced to spend at least €60m. Garcia is seen as a top-quality prospect, and he is available for €25m — a bargain to Barca’s eyes.

Despite winning the league title, Flick insisted over the last few weeks of the season that his Barca squad needed some improvements. And if you analyse the previous campaign, goalkeeper is certainly an area that can be upgraded.

As much as Szczesny was a decent cover, he is not seen as a title-winning goalkeeper inside the club. The Champions League semi-final against Inter, where Yann Sommer all but got them to the final, acted as a moment of realisation around the club.

“We did not lose because of Tek (Szczesny), but Inter did win thanks to Sommer,” a dressing-room source said after the Inter game.

Barcelona’s current goalkeeping options are both in their thirties (JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Besides Szczesny, there is Ter Stegen. He is the club captain, an important dressing-room figure and a player who has now recovered from the severe knee injury he suffered last October.

But doubts about Ter Stegen have loomed for multiple seasons. He was outstanding in the 2022-2023 season, when Xavi’s Barca won La Liga, but has failed to hit consistent heights throughout his 11-year Barcelona career so far.

Ter Stegen has been involved in all Barcelona’s traumatic Champions League nights, from Rome to the 8-2 against Bayern to the 4-0 defeat at Anfield in 2019.

The last couple of seasons have not been memorable for the 33-year-old, and the intention to change the guard at Barcelona is now very real.

Garcia’s profile is seen at Barca as a guaranteed upgrade to all that. He has been an excellent shot-stopper, while having the potential to be a perfect fit in Flick’s high-line system.

But if Joan Garcia joins Barcelona, it will leave the Catalans with a complex situation to manage in their goalkeeping ranks.

Ter Stegen would inevitably see his role at the club questioned more than ever. His current contract runs to 2028, beyond his 36th birthday. And on international duty with Germany this week, the goalkeeper confirmed he has no intention of leaving Barcelona.

“Nobody at the club spoke with me about this situation so I’m not worried,” Ter Stegen said on Sunday at a press conference. “I know I will be at Barcelona next season.”

Barca have also offered Szczesny a new contract to stay as a back-up goalkeeper. The club’s ideal scenario would be to get Garcia in and offload Ter Stegen but, listening to his recent comments, that seems unlikely.

All this context would add an extra layer of pressure to Joan Garcia to deliver the expected performances, as if his signing wasn’t already tinged with controversy.

Garcia’s name has been in everyone’s mouths around Barcelona over the past couple of weeks. He would be the first player in 31 years to move from Espanyol to their local rivals — and just the 14th ever registered.

Players rarely move directly between Espanyol and Barcelona (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Relationships between both clubs and fanbases have always been tense from a local rivalry perspective, although the sense of bitterness is understandably bigger from the Espanyol point of view.

The Pericos are the smaller club in the city, and have often felt ignored and overshadowed by the global brand down the road.

Garcia has been the face of Espanyol on and off the pitch throughout the season, claiming to be a proud fan, kissing the badge when the team secured their La Liga safety. He comes from a family of Barcelona fans, but he joined the Espanyol youth ranks at 15 and made his way through professional football at the club.

Senior figures at Espanyol have spoken publicly on the subject, and admitted they would be surprised if the 24-year-old opts to join Barca.

“I seriously doubt Joan (Garcia) will sign for Barcelona,” said Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez in an interview with Radio Galega last week. “I am not saying I dare to put my hand into fire for that, but pretty close to that.”

As much as Espanyol fans have assumed selling Garcia for €25m is needed for the club’s finances, seeing him switching to their biggest footballing enemies would not just be a tough pill to swallow — but a case to go down in their history books. Another significant weight to carry for Garcia.

Finally, there is Barcelona’s financial situation. According to La Liga sources, the Catalans are currently spending money above their salary limit and as of now are not allowed to register new signings.

The club are waiting to make significant progress in their works to rebuild the Camp Nou to have a positive impact on their balance. Last January, Barca sold a share of future VIP seating in the stadium to get to what La Liga calls the 1:1 rule — meaning they can register players without restrictions.

But with the stadium yet to be completed and the VIP seats not built, Barca’s audit company Crowe did not allow them to count the money from the sale in this season’s accounts. Barca need to have the ground and the seats built so that they can include the income from the VIP seats in their budget and start operating as normal in the transfer market.

This will be another long summer in Barcelona — the Joan Garcia saga may well be the first piece of it.

(Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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