Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the finals of the Carabao Cup last night to win the trophy for the fourth consecutive season. Eric Garcia was not featured even on the bench, while Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias played the game from the centre-back position.
Pep Guardiola, while speaking to the press after the game, practically confirmed that Garcia is set to leave Manchester City and join Barcelona at the end of the season, justifying his absence from the bench in the process:
“Eric Garcia is one of my favourite players. I would love to have 15 Eric Garcias for the way he conducts himself, his behaviour. He’s always thinking in the team.
“It’s always a good phase, he helps the manager and the backroom staff all the time and I would love it…
“He will go in an incredible team and when the people say the people are unsatisfied if I don’t play them…
“I think with Eric, like most of the times, he’s not on the bench because he’s going to move to Barcelona, I hope so. But I think of them. It’s tough but it is what it is.”
Garcia has agreed a contract with Barcelona 2026, and will rejoin the club as a free agent at the end of the season. The player will join club legends and captains Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho on the way out of the club due to the expiry of contracts when the campaign is said and done in June.
