Barcelona, Man City Agree On €55m Deal For Ferran Torres
La Liga Giants, FC Barcelona have their eyes on signing Spain international, Ferran Torres during the January transfer window even as they now aim to trim their squad for the new year.
Reports said Barcelona have agreed to a €55 million (about £47m/$62m) deal in which they will sign Manchester City winger, Torres.
The Spain international, who hasn’t played for City since September due to a foot injury, is set to join Xavi’s side in January despite the Catalans’ financial troubles. However, Barca will now have to focus on offloading some players from their first-team squad as they look to meet La Liga’s financial fair play rules.
Details Of The Deal
According to Goal.com, having reached an agreement to sign Torres, both Barca and City are ready to officially announce the news in the coming days with Barcelona’s Director of football, Mateu Alemany undertaking the negotiations with the Spain international, who is keen to return to his homeland after leaving Valencia in August 2020.
The Liga club will pay an initial fee of €55m for Torres, with an additional amount of around €7m to follow in add-ons. Manchester City had requested a figure approaching €70m for the player, but have ultimately settled on a slightly smaller fee.
Valencia will receive 10 per cent of the transfer fee, having added that stipulation to their agreement with City last year, plus an additional four per cent (4%).
How Barca Can Afford Torres
Barcelona’s financial woes have been well documented, and players will now have to leave as a matter of urgency to ensure Torres can be registered in La Liga.
Sergio Aguero’s decision to retire due to a heart condition frees up his salary, with others needing to be offloaded, either on loan or, more preferably, in permanent transfers.
Insider sources at Barca would listen to offers for many of their first-team squad, aside from a few untouchables including Pedri, Gavi, and Ansu Fati, with big-earners including Samuel Umtiti and Philippe Coutinho in the shop window.
In the views of Man City correspondent, Jonathan Smith, Torres represented great value when he joined the Ethihad squad in the summer of 2020, but he has struggled to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s plans.
Competing for a place as a winger with players such as Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva is not easy, although he has made his biggest impact as a central striker.
Though he has also excelled for Spain’s national team, City are realistically still looking for a more orthodox striker and reliable scorer, which they haven’t had since Aguero left the club.
For Manchester City, a sizeable return on Torres is too good to turn down and can help finance a big-money move elsewhere, with Borussia Dortmund star, Erling Haaland, a top target. – With Goal.com reports
