Guardiola: Why I am selling Ferran Torres to Barcelona
FT Desk
- 26 Dec 2021 15:52 GMT
- 3 min read
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained why he has agreed to sell Ferran Torres to Barcelona.
It has been unanimously reported in England and Spain that a deal has been done that will see Torres join Barcelona when the January transfer window opens this week.
TRENDING
Manchester City will receive around €55 million up front and another €10m in add-ons, with Torres agreeing to a five-year contract.
It has been questioned why Guardiola would sanction the sale of a player who has proven to be a useful forward for City over the past 18 months.
Torres has scored 16 goals for City since arriving from Valencia in 2020 and has often been deployed as a false 9 by Guardiola to decent effect.
But Guardiola says that if a player wants to leave the club then it is counter-productive to force them to leave.
What did Guardiola say about Ferran Torres?
“I cannot push the players or convince the player if his mind is elsewhere. [It makes] no sense,” Pep said ahead of the Boxing Day Premier League match against Leicester City at the Etihad.
“Other clubs say it doesn't matter, I'm not agreeing. Every club has to decide how to deal with that, [this is] my personal opinion [to let them leave].”
Pep Guardiola says Ferran Torres is close to joining Barcelona but rules out the possibility of Man City signing a striker in January 😮pic.twitter.com/ZvSUQlW2kY
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 24, 2021
Torres is not the first top Man City player that Guardiola sanctioned the sale of this year.
In the summer, Pep also agreed to sell Bernardo Silva after the Portuguese attacking midfielder requested to leave.
However, no buying club was able to agree on a deal and Bernardo eventually remained for the 2021-22 campaign. He has since been one of the best players in the Premier League this season.
Some City fans will be hoping that Barca’s Torres deal also falls through, with the Blaugrana known to be in heavy debt and there being question marks as to how they will finance the move.
