Eric Garcia’s January move to Barcelona is thrown into serious doubt
Barcelona‘s chances of signing Manchester City defender Eric Garcia this month have been thrown into serious doubt because elections to pick a new president have been postponed.
The club announced on Friday that their elections on January 24 will now not go ahead because of the coronavirus.
Stand-in president Carles Tusquets plans to meet with candidates this evening to decide if the club should still go ahead and sign Garcia but he is unlikely to be given the go-ahead.
Barcelona’s chances of signing Man City defender Eric Garcia this month are in serious doubt
Ronald Koeman wanted Garcia signed in the January window and Manchester City are open to allowing the 20-year-old to leave for a fee of around €5million but signing players is NOT within the remit of caretaker president Tusquets who was meant to merely see the club through to the next elections.
Stand-in president Carles Tusquets (above) plans to meet with candidates to discuss the deal going ahead
Electora favourite Joan Laporta and his two rivals Victor Font and Toni Freixa will meet with Tusquets but the former has already indicated he has no intention of allowing the temporary board to proceed.
Tusquets has already been criticized for not holding elections before Christmas before the holiday season brought an inevitable increase in coronavirus cases and a subsequent tightening of restrictions.
The club’s supporters were due to vote on a new president on January 24 but Barcelona issued a statement Friday to confirm they would not take place on that date citing ‘mobility restrictions decreed by the (regional) Government in the current context of the pandemic’.
Movement between municipalities is currently restricted in Catalonia up to January 24 and that makes voting difficult for those outside of Barcelona difficult.
The news of a cancellation comes despite Laporta urging the club to allow the vote to go ahead because Barcelona could not afford be without a president for any longer. A new date has still not been set.
Ronald Koeman wanted Garcia signed in the January window and City would let him leave
