Joan García will be the new Barça goalkeeper: five-season agreement

Published New:2/06/2025 - 15:19h

Updated New:2/06/2025 - 15:30h

FC Barcelona will sign the Espanyol goalkeeper for 25 million euros after beating competition from the Premier League.

Joan García has reached an agreement with FC Barcelona to join the club for five seasons. The transfer will be completed with the payment of his release clause of 25 million euros, plus CPI. The 24-year-old goalkeeper will arrive to compete with Ter Stegen and Szczesny in the Barça goal.

Barça already has the goalkeeper's OK

FC Barcelona has taken a decisive step to strengthen its squad for next season with the incorporation of young goalkeeper Joan García. Sources close to the club confirm that there is already an agreement in principle with the RCD Espanyol goalkeeper for a contract of five seasons, pending only the payment of his release clause.

The transfer will be closed for 25 million euros plus the CPI update, a figure stipulated in the player's contract with the Perico team. The operation could become official in the coming days, pending the latest bureaucratic and medical details.

Signing with Flick's approval and international projection

Joan García's final decision has come after weeks of reflection. Although his environment recognized the emotional difficulty of moving from Espanyol to FC Barcelona, the Barça proposal, both sporting and economic, ended up convincing the player.

The young goalkeeper, a native of Sallent, prioritized Barça's sporting project over other offers and positively valued the possibility of playing in the Champions League and competing in a winning environment without leaving his homeland.

Joan García's career: Goals in official matches

The goalkeeper has closed the season as one of the key names for Espanyol, being instrumental in avoiding relegation in the last few matches. His performance and maturity, both in goal and in his public behavior, have reinforced his profile as a committed professional.

Season	Team	Goals	Matches	Average
2024/25	Espanyol	51	38	1,34
2023/24	Espanyol	10	21	0,48
2022/23	Espanyol	5	4	1,25
2021/22	Espanyol	6	4	1,50

+Official LaLiga data

García arrives at Barça with the explicit support of Hansi Flick and the sports management, who consider him a signing for the future. At 24 years old, he has been one of the most outstanding goalkeepers of the season, showing reflexes, personality, and remarkable maturity despite his youth.

With 38 official matches played and an average of 1.34 goals conceded per game, he is called to compete in the upcoming calls for the Spanish national team and to consolidate himself as one of the references in his position.

A strategic signing for an elite goal

Barça's objective is for Joan García to share the position with Ter Stegen, although as of today the German's future is not closed. The club has conveyed to Ter Stegen —the undisputed starter to date and with a contract until 2028— that, if he wishes to continue, he must compete for the position on equal terms.

The German valued the possibility of reinforcing the squad, reiterating his desire to continue helping the club as one of its references. "It is natural for Barcelona to always seek to develop and improve, I am clear about that. I will always try to give my best," commented the '1' of the team.

Barça does not rule out putting Ter Stegen on the market this summer. Guardiola is looking for a goalkeeper for Manchester City and Ter Stegen could be the ideal option. The German does not plan to leave Barça, but the signing of Joan García complicates his future.

In any case, the club will not make hasty decisions. Once García's signing is resolved, there will probably be a meeting with the '1' to talk about his future. If Marc-André insists on staying, Barça will not consider his departure in the summer.

In parallel, Iñaki Peña is likely to leave in search of minutes and Celta could be his destination. Wojciech Szczesny, meanwhile, will renew for one more season as part of the transition plan designed by the coaching staff.

Barça wins the bid against the greats of the Premier League

The incorporation of Joan García has not been without competition. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, which already has David Raya, was one of the most insistent clubs in the last year. They even negotiated his signing last summer.

However, in the last few hours, the 'gunners' decided to withdraw definitively from the bid, considering that their goal is well covered and that it was not convenient to pay the full clause.

Other clubs such as Aston Villa and Manchester City also sounded out the player, who has become one of the revelations of Spanish football. Despite the British interest, it has been FC Barcelona who has managed to close an operation that reinforces their squad and sends a message of ambition for the immediate future.

A new chapter in the Barça-Espanyol rivalry

The signing of Joan García not only has sporting implications. It also rekindles one of the most tense links in Catalan football: the historic rivalry between Barça and Espanyol. The fact that a key player from the Blanquiazul entity makes the leap to the Camp Nou has not gone unnoticed by the Perica fans, who have already shown their discomfort on social media.

For their part, those close to the player insist that the decision responds to "a natural leap in his career" and the desire to compete at the highest level. The operation, which will be entirely assumed by Barça through the payment of the clause, avoids direct negotiation with Espanyol and allows the movement to be closed quickly.

The signing could become official next week

In a squad that seeks to rejuvenate without losing competitiveness, Joan García can be a key piece in the Barça puzzle. If his arrival is confirmed in the coming days, Barça will have managed to get ahead of other suitors and secure one of the goalkeepers with the most projection on the national and international scene.

Currently, Joan García is on vacation, as is Deco, so the signing of the contract and the official presentation could be postponed to next week. However, the agreement is sealed and Barça is already working on the formal procedures to activate the clause and announce its new reinforcement.