La Liga: Barcelona keeper Garcia unconcerned over registration issues

Madrid, Aug 14 (IANS) FC Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia says he is not worried about whether the club will be able to register him in the squad in time for their La Liga season opener in Mallorca this weekend. Barca paid 25 million euros to Espanyol to sign Garcia at the start of the summer, but financial fair play rules mean he has still not been registered with the first team for the new season.

Although Barca is scrambling for time to include him in the squad, Garcia told the El Mundo Deportivo newspaper that he had been expecting the situation, reports Xinhua. "When I signed, I already knew what was coming. I was already ready to face it, and I'm calm," he said, insisting that "everything will turn out well, and I have confidence in the club."

He explained that "from a sporting perspective and for my future, I didn't have any doubts at all," from a club whose fans have an intense dislike for their neighbours.

"Obviously, on the other side, coming from Espanyol, there are a few more doubts, but from a sporting perspective, I didn't have any," he said.

He said he "understood," the "pain and disappointment" Espanyol fans could feel at seeing him cross the club, "in the end, but it was the decision I had to make for myself, for my family, and for my future."

Barcelona have signed goalkeeper Joan Garcia from Espanyol after captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a serious right knee injury. The Spanish club had signed Wojciech Szczesny, asking him to come out of retirement ahead of the 2025-26 season, and the Polish goalie became the first choice for Hansi Flick between the sticks in place of ter Stegen. Garcia will start as his understudy now and can prove to be a solid signing and potentially be the Catalonians' first choice in the years to come.

Born in Sallent de Llobregat, in the Bages region of Catalonia, the new Barca goalkeeper didn’t start between the posts. It wasn’t long before he followed in the footsteps of his older brother and picked up the gloves. That was the beginning of his path toward the elite. After leaving Sallent, he moved to Manresa and then to Damm, until Espanyol signed him at the age of 15.

During his time at Espanyol, he became a regular in Spain’s youth national teams from the U17 to the U21 level, and he has an Olympic gold medal from the 2024 Games in Paris.

With Espanyol, he made his first-team debut at the end of 2021, but it wasn’t until the 2023/24 season that he established himself as the starting goalkeeper, helping the team earn promotion back to the top flight.

--IANS

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