TOR BLIMEY Ferran Torres closing in on Barcelona transfer in £50m move from Man City ‘after club take out out HUGE bank loan’

Posted Thursday, December 23, 2021 by Goal.com

GOAL can confirm the Liga giants will sign the Spain international in the January transfer window and will now aim to trim their squad

Barcelona have agreed a €55 million (£47m/$62m) deal to sign Manchester City winger Ferran Torres, GOAL can confirm.

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.

Barca will now have to focus on offloading players from their first-team squad as they look to meet La Liga's financial fair play rules.

What are the details?

GOAL can confirm Barca have reached an agreement with City to sign Torres, with both clubs set to officially announce the news in the coming days.

Barca's director of football Mateu Alemany undertook 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.

GOAL understands City had requested a figure approaching €70m for the player, but have ultimately settled on a slightly smaller fee.

Valencia will receive 10% of the transfer, having added that stipulation to their agreement with City last year, plus an additional 4%.

How can Barca 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.

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.

Man City correspondent Jonathan Smith's view

Ferran Torres represented great value when he joined Manchester City 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.

While he has also excelled for Spain's national team, realistically City are still in the hunt for a more orthodox striker and reliable scorer, which they haven't had since Aguero left the club.

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.