La Masia prodigy Eric Garcia has answered to his parent club Barcelona in some style. Barcelona see themselves in trouble, as they slip to fourth in the La Liga table, and one of their own loanees, Eric Garcia, has added fuel to the fire at Barcelona. Girona beat Barca 4-2 on Sunday, to go top of the league, and seven points clear of Catalan rivals Barcelona.
Goals in the game came from Artem Dobvyk, Miguel Gutierrez, Valery Fernandez and Christian Stuani for Girona, while Pichichi holder Robert Lewandowski and former Manchester City player Ilkay Gundogan netted for Barca. However, it was the other former Man City player Eric Garcia who stole the headlines after a motivated performance against his parent club.
Who is Eric Garcia?
Born and brought up in Barcelona, Eric Garcia was one of the most highly rated youngsters that came out from Barcelona’s academy La Masia. Manchester City came calling for him in 2017 and carried forward his development.
He broke into the main team, and got minutes in City’s 2018/29 campaign, before properly breaking into the first team after the COVID-19 break.
Garcia then rejected a contract extension with Man City, with the view of signing for Barcelona as a free agent. In the summer of 2021, Eric Garcia signed for Barcelona with the aim of breaking into the first team immediately. Eric Garcia became one of many Man City-Barca trades, adding to the list of Sergio Aguero, Ferran Torres, and recent ones like Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan.
However, inconsistency and short-term injuries hampered his Barca period, eventually leading to his loan to Man City’s sister club Girona for more playing time.
Eric García: "I asked Barcelona to leave because I wanted regular playing time. Playing at Barça is complicated, but I'm trying to enjoy my time here." pic.twitter.com/JyA9811CxR
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) December 10, 2023
Many compared him and his route to Barca legend Gerard Pique’s. An academy graduate, shipped to Manchester, and came back with the idea of becoming Barcelona’s main guy at the back. However, that was not the case as he fell a few ranks under current boss Xavi.
Barcelona loan Eric Garcia to Girona who played 90-minutes to defeat FCB
After a disappointing couple of seasons with Barcelona, the 22-year-old was loaned to Girona for this season, and now Girona find themselves at the top of the La Liga tree, with Eric Garcia being one of the pivotal elements in their campaign.
Barcelona sent Eric Garcia on loan to Catalan rival Girona to get more minutes on the pitch.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 10, 2023
He just put in a 90-minute shift and defeated his parent club to send Girona top of the league!
Unreal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kIVBDs6jes
On Sunday, Eric Garcia put up a good show and motivated 90 minutes performance against his parent club, leaving many questioning the Blaugrana’s decision of loaning him to a Catalan rival, and also allowing him to play against his parent club.
Garcia has been remarkable this season, partnering with Daley Blind at the heart of Girona’s defense, with Champions League qualification very likely for the current league leaders.
Do you think loaning Eric Garcia was a bad decision considering Barcelona’s current defensive woes? Let us know in the comments.
