Manchester City want Barcelona to pay the sort of fee for Eric Garcia that they have just shelled out for Ferran Torres.
Pep Guardiola dropped the bombshell in his press conference ahead of their Champions League game with Real Madrid that Garcia has informed the club he does not wish to extend his contract beyond 2021. Having previously been confident of keeping him despite strong interest from former club Barcelona, the Blues must now accept that they will have to let him leave.
However, the very fact that the two clubs have wrestled over Garcia's future for the last three years shows how highly he is rated.
City have just signed an exciting 20-year-old Spanish talent that had just one year remaining on his contract in Torres from Valencia for an initial €23m plus €12m in additional payments. As such, they expect a similar fee for an exciting 19-year-old Spanish talent that has just one year remaining on his contract in Garcia.
As they were with Leroy Sane, the Blues are prepared to keep Garcia for the length of his contract even if it is more likely that he will leave this summer. The youngster has been a model professional during his time at the Etihad and would not be expected to down tools if he were to stay - especially given the opportunities that had been laid out for him in City's future plans.
Garcia's departure would potentially open up a spot in Guardiola's defence for next season for one of John Stones, Tosin Adarabioyo or Taylor Harwood-Bellis even with the further strengthening that is expected in the transfer market.
