Joan Garcia has debuted with the Spanish national team and has been at the stadium that until last June was his home, the RCDE Stadium. The Spanish men's national team has returned to Catalonia four years later in a friendly against Egypt (0-0). One of the great attractions of the match was knowing whether the blue and red goalkeeper would debut with the senior national team. The Sallent-born player was dropped from the squad last Friday in Vila-real, but came on in the 62nd minute in Cornellà-El Prat with more applause than whistles – despite being booed by some fans during the warm-up due to his past with Espanyol–. Luis de la Fuente was also booed after not calling up Joan Garcia when he was with the white and blue team. If he had been called up before signing for Barça, his release clause would have increased by five million more, up to thirty.

After years with Espanyol bouncing between the second and first divisions, the Barcelona derby is back in full swing. Two teams firing on all cylinders, plenty of homegrown players, evenly matched on the pitch, and fans eagerly awaiting match day—a feeling that hasn't always been present for Barcelona supporters lately. Luckily, they were able to talk about football. It was needed.

The last time Joan Garcia set foot in the RCDE Stadium, he kissed the badge after Espanyol secured their place in La Liga, largely thanks to his saves. On his return, the current Barça goalkeeper experienced a personal nightmare, which he quelled with a stellar performance. Joan wasn't afraid of the match, but it had certainly caused him anxiety. According to ARA, before the game, the goalkeeper had told some of his current and former Espanyol teammates that he was anxious about playing the derby at the RCDE Stadium. He was eager to get through the night and put it behind him.

The headline quote was delivered to me by a Real Madrid supporter with a sigh, a mixture of annoyance and resignation: "And now, on top of everything, Barça has Joan García." The Catalan goalkeeper had an outstanding performance against Villarreal and kept his team in the game during difficult moments against an opponent who, despite being down to 10 men, never gave up, aided by errors in the Barça defense and some incredibly silly turnovers in midfield. Barça has a goalkeeper, and one for the long haul, something crucial for being a successful team, as Real Madrid has demonstrated, for example.

Following the defeat in London, Hansi Flick was emphatic in the press conference: "We will see a different Barça, I can promise you that."And he wasn't wrong. Since that 3-0 defeat at Chelsea, Barça has strung together five consecutive victories, allowing them to seize the lead in La Liga and keep alive their hopes of finishing in the top eight of the Champions League to avoid a knockout round (the play-offIn Europe, this is important given the tight schedule. The return of Joan Garcia, Pedri, and Raphinha—the backbone of Hansi Flick's Barça—has been key, but so has the team's defensive improvement, thanks to the stability of the center-back pairing. Without Iñigo Martínez, the German coach began the season searching for a left-sided center-back. With Pau Cubarsí a fixture in the heart of the defense—having missed only four matches this season—Araujo, Eric Garcia, and Christensen competed to see who could secure a starting spot alongside the player from Estanyol. The Uruguayan –now on indefinite leave– He has been the one who has accompanied the Catalan footballer from the start the most times, up to seven.The last time was at Chelsea's ground, when he was sent off for a second yellow card before halftime. Eric – who this season has played at full-back on both sides, center-back, and defensive midfielder – has started alongside Cubarsí five times, while Christensen has not started with the Girona native. Other pairings used by the German manager from the start were Eric Garcia with either Christensen or Araujo, each on two occasions, and the Uruguayan and the Dane, who started together against Real Sociedad.

Joan Garcia, with a torn medial meniscus in his left knee that he suffered in the final minutes of the match against Oviedo, and Raphinha, who is suffering from an injury to the middle third of the hamstring in his right thigh, have been added to Barça's injury list.

Barça remains comfortable when it comes to coming back, and that's what he did against Oviedo (1-3) With goals from Eric Garcia, Lewandowski, and Araujo, after a serious error by Joan Garcia cost Antonio Reina an own goal. Here are some quick notes from the match:

In the second part in Vallecas, with Rayo drowning Barça, Joan Garcia made a great save in Isi Palazón And the Madrid team's forward stared at him in disbelief. The Murcia native's face epitomizes the mood of a helpless stadium. The Catalan goalkeeper had his first great game as a Barça player and will take advantage of these days to unwind, although he knows that getting back into the swing of things with the Spanish national team is only a matter of time and that will cut into his free time. The rest also serves to recover from the pain associated with the scare he suffered during the warm-up at the Mallorca stadium. The discomfort in the little finger of his left hand will linger for a few more weeks.

The search for money by Joan Laporta's board has led Barça to close a sponsorship agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the most corrupt countries in the world (ranked 163 out of 180 by Transparency International). It also suffers from extreme lack of water and food in some areas; has serious infrastructure deficiencies and is experiencing a period of insecurity due to the territorial advance of the M23, a predominantly Tutsi rebel military group. Because of all this, activists, journalists and other members of Congolese civil society express their rejection of their government's agreement to allocate more than 40 million euros to sponsor Barça's training shirt for four seasons with the slogan "DR Congo – Heart of Africa (Congo, Heart of Africa). The alliance is official as of this Wednesday.

If no operations are accelerated in the coming days, Hansi Flick will begin his second preseason as Barça's head coach with four goalkeepers on the roster. The German coach and his specific trainers, José Ramón de la Fuente and Toni Tapalović, will work starting next week with captain Marc-André ter Stegen, the eternal substitute Iñaki Peña, the newcomer Joan Garcia, and the recently renewed Wojciech Szczęsny. Only the latter two are included in the plans of the sporting directorate headed by Anderson Luís de Souza, Deco. However, The harsh reality of League registrations It represents the paradox that only the first two would be able to get playing time if the competition were to start tomorrow. There is work to be done in the offices before mid-August so that the coaches' intentions can be translated into consolidated measures for the squad.

Until recently, whenever Barça signed a player, a presentation event was held where, in addition to signing the contract and taking photos with the president, he would discuss his aspirations. There was even a period when journalistic questions could be asked of the key players: not only the player, but also those responsible for transfer policy. This is why former director of professional sports Albert Soler was questioned about Coutinho's exorbitant price in 2018, or, in the summer of 2023, during a tour of the United States, former director of football Mateu Alemany gave details of what Barça had paid Girona to sign Oriol Rome. Low cost. This, Oriol Romeu's in Los Angeles (!), is the latest press conference presentation Barça has held for a signing – Hansi Flick aside.

The first rumors about Joan's departure to the unmentionable coincided in the media with a news story that went unnoticed amidst the succession of daily holocausts: the discovery by the Brazilian police of a veritable factory of Russian spies in the country, elite double agents, better known as "illegals," who led perfectly normal lives for years until, at some point, they were activated for some mission.

After Barça paid Joan Garcia's release clause at the end of last week, The next step for the goalkeeper from Sallent to confirm his departure from Espanyol to sign for their eternal rivals was to publish a farewell message. He has been part of the Espanyol squad for nine years and, therefore, knew perfectly well that choosing the Camp Nou to continue his professional career would do more harm to the Blanquiazul fans than trying his luck in the Premier League, where he had attractive offers. That's why García, before putting on the Barça shirt and speaking as the new goalkeeper for Hansi Flick's squad, had yet to communicate with all those who just a few weeks ago considered him an idol. Barça, for its part, has already made it official that it has honored Garcia's release clause. This Friday, the player will sign a contract for the next six seasons, until June 30, 2031, in a private ceremony at Barça's offices.

Barça had been planning the arrival of Joan Garcia And this Friday, a decisive step was taken. As ARA has been able to confirm, the club has already paid the release clause, an essential requirement to announce the first signing of the 2025-26 season.

Barça is already planning to bring in Joan Garcia to shake up the men's first team goalkeeping position. The signing, which implicitly shows the door to Marc-André ter Stegen, the undisputed number 1 since the summer of 2016, first required quiet and patient negotiations with the player from Sallent, a product of Espanyol's youth academy. A few weeks ago, at the celebration of his continued contract, García kissed the blue and white badge. At that time, very few people thought he would leave for the city's eternal rival. Only through subsequent conversations with representatives and family members—and also with Barça spokespersons, who have guaranteed him playing time—has he finally decided. which Cornellà-El Prat will understand as a betrayal.

A century later, in the streets and bars of Barcelona, people are once again talking about a goalkeeper who changes sides. The signing of Joan Garcia, who will leave Espanyol to wear the blue and red jersey, has hurt the feelings of the blue and white fans and inflamed those of Barcelona fans, just as Ricardo Zamora did 100 years ago. Only time will tell if the goalkeeper from Sallent will become as famous as the eternal Zamora, one of the best goalkeepers of all time. And a man who shook the city not just once, but twice, on both occasions.

Barça hopes to close the signing of Joan Garcia this week. According to ARA, the club has received a positive response from the Espanyol goalkeeper to become the first confirmed signing for the 2025-2026 season, in which Hansi Flick's team will defend their triple national crown and try to overcome their Champions League trophy. Negotiations between the parties have been ongoing for several days, and time has always been on Barça's side's side, which believes the player from Sallent, a product of the Blanquiazul youth system, could have ruled out going to the eternal rival city from the first moment. As the days have passed, not only has this not happened, but the option of staying at Barcelona and in La Liga has ended up prevailing over offers from Premier League teams such as Newcastle and Manchester City -BK_SLT_LNA~ If nothing goes wrong in the next few hours, Joan Garcia will commit to a contract with Barça. Espanyol, therefore, will enjoy his professional prime at the new Camp Nou, where he hopes to share a generation with other talents such as Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Pedri González and Dani Olmo. Deco. Aside from striving for bigger goals, Joan Garcia will also increase his salary. At Espanyol, he was far from the top salaries in the squad, and at Barça, he will debut his status as a millionaire player, although still quite far from the top of a ladder topped by Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal.

Joan Garcia is the name in the spotlight at the start of the transfer window. The Espanyol goalkeeper, who has established himself as one of the best in La Liga this season, must decide which shirt he will wear for the upcoming campaign, although it seems clear that the Cornellà-El Prat offices are hoping to cash in on two clauses. On the one hand, Newcastle appears to be leading the English race; on the other, Barça is the option that most worries the Pericos. The player has not yet ruled out any possibility. Regarding the upcoming transfer window, the 24-year-old avoided answering. "I'm very calm. A lot of things are coming up from a lot of teams, but we've just finished the season and I want to rest. From there, I'll decide what's best for me," he assured.

Football is fascinating. Millions of people ask footballers not to prioritize their professional careers. We hope they don't break our hearts. He dreamed of playing for Villarreal or Leganés when he was a kid in Salvador de Bahia. Or that he already had Glasgow Rangers jerseys in his bedroom in a village in Galicia. They're leaving plenty of clues that show they really do care about your club. Can we have any doubts about Marc Casadó, who even goes to Canaletes? Can we have any doubts about Joan Garcia, now that Barça wants him?

Joan Garcia will have no shortage of suitors this summer. The architect of Espanyol's permanence, However, he will have to make a vital decision: leave the club of his life as a hero or break the hearts of a fan base that has idolized him. His conditions and the excellent performances offered this season, in which he was the goalkeeper with the second most saves in the five major European leagues (146, only surpassed by the 153 of Mark Flekken, of Brentford), caught the attention of a good handful of European clubs willing to pay his release clause of 25 million. At just 24 years old, the goalkeeper from Sallent will be one of the bargains in this market.