Eric Garcia has rejuvenated his career at Girona FC. The FC Barcelona defender had joined the fellow Catalan side in the summer transfer window of 2023 on a one-year loan.
The 23-year-old had earlier joined Barca from Manchester City, where he was heavily criticized for his lack of defensive awareness and howlers on the pitch. However, Eric Garcia has matured a lot during the loan spell which has even invited some praise from FC Barcelona coach Xavi.
🔵🔴 Barça manager Xavi confirms his appreciation for Eric Garcia: “He’s absolutely capable of being part of the Barça team, I always said that”.
“He ended up being a Girona player for reasons beyond my control”.
↪️ Girona will push again soon to keep Eric for next season. pic.twitter.com/X8B70MOD87
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 5, 2024
The former midfielder was in awe of the Spanish defender’s performance in Girona’s 4-2 victory against FC Barcelona on matchday 34 of La Liga 23/24. Xavi even declared that his performances for Girona make him a hot contender for the center-back position at Barca next season.
Xavi said, “He’s absolutely capable of being part of the Barça team, I always said that”. “He ended up being a Girona player for reasons beyond my control”. It seems that the 44-year-old manager does not intend to lose out on Eric Garcia for one more season. However, it would be interesting to see how Girona, who are very contended with the defender’s performances, respond to Xavi’s comments.
Girona aims to keep Eric Garcia beyond the summer of 2024
The Catalan club is really pleased with the defender’s performances in the 23/24 season. The club hierarchy at Girona believes that Eric Garcia is one of the prime reasons behind the club creating history and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. Therefore, as revealed by the Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Girona will do their best to sign the Spaniard on a permanent deal.
Girona’s coach, Michel too believes that the player has all the required conditions to become a top defender. He has even admitted that it was a blessing to have Eric Garcia at Girona. The defender will cost around $16-21 million with Girona either going for a permanent deal or a loan for yet another year.
However, all the positive words from Girona have rather failed to convince Eric Garcia to stay at Girona FC. The player has confirmed that he is all set to return to FC Barcelona after the end of his loan spell.
🚨| Girona is seriously considering on keeping Eric Garcia permanently. His signing could cost around €15-20M. A loan option is also not ruled out. [@relevo] #fcblive pic.twitter.com/s1QSrFZTtM
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) April 26, 2024
He said (via Barca Blaugranes), “I’m going to return to Barça. I have a contract, I will return when the season ends and we will talk to the club to see what is there. For now, I will return to Barça, it is my club. Obviously, at Girona I have been very good, they have treated me very well, and even more so if we achieve what we are about to achieve.”
Eric Garcia thanked Girona for their wonderful hospitality but, did not assure them of permanently signing a contract with Girona. The Spaniard would rather discuss his future at FC Barcelona only after the expiry of his loan deal.
Xavi slams the poor mentality of the Barca players in their defeat to Girona
The former manager was livid with his team’s performance against Girona where they suffered a humiliating 4-2 defeat away from home. The manager was a little extra frustrated as Real Madrid had clinched their 35th La LIga title on the same day.
Xavi believes that it has been a pattern of his team giving up on games, just like the way did against Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain in the UCL. The Barca manager has admitted that his players’ poor mentality has cost them the season.
He said after losing out to Girona (via Barca Blaugranes), “This match shows a lack of effectiveness, competitiveness, a lack of maturity, and individual errors that shouldn’t happen at this level. We speak a lot about our mentality to try and avoid these kinds of mistakes, but they keep happening. It’s the story of our season.”
Xavi: “We gift the matches to our opponents. It happened twice against Madrid, and now against Girona. Even against Paris.” pic.twitter.com/TXhW6toWcc
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) May 4, 2024
Xavi also highlighted the immature attitudes of the Barca players during the games. He said, “We collapse with any negative situation. I have the feeling that we give the games away. It happened to us in the two games against Madrid, in the two against PSG, in the two against Girona. Thinking positively, I want to think it’s because of immaturity.”
FC Barcelona will have to change their attitude next season if they want to win any silverware next season. Their lack of game awareness and competitiveness has already led to the club having a disappointing trophyless 23/24 season. The Barca fans will surely want to have a strong reaction from the players in the 24/25 season.