Barcelona activate release clause for 24-year-old rising star –

Barcelona have had an agreement in place with Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia for multiple weeks now, but the Blaugrana have taken the vital step to secure his signing. The 24-year-old standout last season could be announced as a new Barcelona signing this week.

Garcia was all set to leave Espanyol this summer, and for his €25m release clause, but most expected it to be to the Premier League, with interest from Newcastle United and Manchester City. However after a last-minute change of plans from Barcelona, they decided to move for him, and Director of Football Deco has convinced him to make the switch across the city. He will sign a five-year with the Blaugrana earning €3m per season.

Barcelona will not spend more than €60m on Luis Díaz. @sport

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Barcelona activate Joan Garcia release clause

After reports that the €25m required had been deposited on Friday, Diario AS report that the Rastar Group, Espanyol’s Chinese ownership, have confirmed to the Chinese stock market that the €26.34m has been paid to release Garcia from his contract. That amount corresponds to the clause plus taxes on top of it. La Liga informed Espanyol that this was the case on Monday morning.

The announcement also states that Espanyol are yet to receive the cash, but a minimum of €18.75m of the fee will go towards the club and its daily operations. This is expected to keep Espanyol in the black for this year’s accounts.

Espanyol sale talks

Los Pericos are also reportedly up for sale, and owner Chen Yansheng is seemingly close to sealing an agreement with ALK Capital and Alan Pace, the group currently in charge of Burnley in the Premier League. If the deal is completed, then Pace is expected to focus his attentions on building on Espanyol’s current setup and making them a contender for European places in the coming years.