Eric Garcia takes it on himself

BarcelonaThe VIP area of the Ushuaïa nightclub, in Ibiza, becomes a catwalk of well-known faces during the summer months. It was a regular destination for Leo Messi, Luis Suárez and the cream of the crop of the Barça dressing room a few years ago and today it continues to be frequented by Barça footballers eager for decompression. The latest to be seen there in an evening session were Dani Olmo, Joan Garcia and Eric Garcia. Due to their age and common ground, this trio has bonded in recent months and spends a lot of time together both inside and outside the football world. All three (and also Pedri, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Pau Cubarsí) have convention holidays until August 12, when more than three weeks will have passed since their World Cup triumph against Leo Messi's Argentina. But Eric Garcia, according to confirmations from his circle, will advance his return slightly.

That Martorell's center-back is content with three weeks of disconnection has to do with his little physical wear during the World Cup. Luis de la Fuente called him up after his great season with Barça, but he didn't use him with the same frequency as Hansi Flick at Barça. The Spanish coach was very clear that the center-back pairing of la roja had to be Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte, and he maintained it until the Basque player needed the change in extra time of the final. Only at that point did Eric have the opportunity to debut. Those 20 minutes, more or less, were the only ones he had in the entire championship. Nothing to do with the levels of protagonism achieved at his club, where he completed the 2025-26 campaign with 51 appearances – in various positions – and one goal. Partly because of this, he believes he is now in a position to return to Barcelona this weekend and start the next one under Flick. If there are no more premature returns, the rest of the World Cup players (the Spanish ones, Anthony Gordon and Jules Kounde) will return to work next Wednesday.

One of the dressing room leaders

Another reason that leads Eric Garcia to train (as they say) even more is that he has every chance of being chosen as one of the five captains of the Barça squad. Bringing his return forward a few days shows his commitment to the project, which will be endorsed before the market closes with the official distribution of numbers and the legendary photo of the incoming season's captains. With the departure of Marc-André ter Stegen already confirmed, one vacancy remains and the Catalan defender is the favorite to fill it more for a matter of seniority than mere age. The other candidates to be part of the captains' group are Gavi and Ferran Torres. The Andalusian midfielder will complete his sixth season in the first team of the Blaugrana (Eric will complete five), while the Valencian, with an uncertain future due to contractual issues, is also heading into his sixth season.

Martorell's player wearing the senyera armband will reward his progress as a footballer and put an end to two seasons without any players formed at La Masia among the captains. The last one to earn this right was Sergi Roberto, who inherited this condition after Javier Mascherano's departure and became first captain after Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba left Camp Nou. The Reus native only enjoyed the first captaincy for one season (23-24). Now Eric Garcia, a Barcelona player since the pre-benjamin school and captain in all categories, is in a position to repeat leadership in the first team. When the internal vote confirms it, he will be the fifth man behind Ronald Araujo – first captain since this season –, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha Dias, and Pedri.