BREAKING NEWS: Barcelona confirm deal to sign Ferran Torres

The
Spain
international
returns
to
LaLiga
following
an
18-month
spell
in
the
Premier
League
and
has
signed
a
deal
until
June
2027.

Barca
are
said
to
be
paying
an
initial
€55m
(£46.7m)
and
as
much
as
€10m
(£8.5m)
in
add-ons.

The
Catalan
giants
revealed
a
€1billion
release
clause
has
been
inserted
in
Torres’ contract
and
he
will
be
officially
unveiled
at
Camp
Nou
on
January
3.

City
initially
spent
roughly
€23m
(£20m)
to
sign
Torres
from
Valencia
in
2020,
meaning
they
have
more
than
doubled
their
money
on
a
player
who
has
never
truly
been
considered
a
first-choice
starter.

Barca
had
been
linked
with
Torres
in
pre-season
but
their
crippling
financial
state
meant
transfer
outlays
were
implausible.

The
club’s
debts
have
topped
€1.4billion
this
year
and
as
a
result
of
their
financial
performance,
they
saw
their
LaLiga
salary
cap
slashed
by
€280m
to
just
€97m,
hence
their
inability
to
retain
Lionel
Messi.

That
saw
Barca
slip
from
having
the
second-highest
wage
limit
last
season
to
seventh
in
2021-22.

Speculation
ahead
of
Torres’ signing
led
to
many
pondering
how
Barca
can
suddenly
afford
such
a
significant
transfer
fee
so
soon,
but
reports
indicate
they
recently
took
out
a
significant
loan
to
ensure
they
can.

Torres’
arrival
means
new
coach
Xavi
has
the
type
of
young,
dynamic
attacker
he
had
been
after,
with
the
21-year-old
capable
of
playing
through
the
middle
and
out
on
the
right,
where
he
was
most-frequently
used
at
Valencia.

Since
Xavi’s
return
to
Barca
as
head
coach,
he
has
spoken
regularly
about
a
desire
to
play
with
classic
wingers,
while
his
reluctance
to
use
Luuk
de
Jong
as
the
focal
point
of
their
attack
has
suggested
a
preference
for
a
quick
and
energetic
central
striker
–
Torres
fits
the
bill
on
both
counts.

Yet
he
leaves
City
as
something
of
an
enigma,
having
only
made
15
Premier
League
starts
in
2020-21,
and
this
season
Torres
has
managed
just
four
appearances
in
the
top
flight
due
to
a
foot
injury
he
sustained
on
international
duty
in
October.

As
much
as
it
feels
he
has
left
City
before
the
Premier
League
truly
got
to
know
him,
in
his
limited
time
Torres
has
made
an
impact
on
the
pitch
for
City.

Among
City
players
to
feature
for
at
least
1,000
minutes
across
all
competitions
since
the
start
of
last
season,
Torres’
0.55
goals
per
90
minutes
is
the
highest
and
none
of
his
strikes
have
been
from
the
penalty
spot.

His
average
of
2.8
shots
(per
90)
is
third
only
to
Kevin
De
Bruyne
(3.3)
and
Riyad
Mahrez
(3.2),
and
his
expected
goals
on
a
per-90-minute
basis
of
0.44
is
bettered
by
just
Raheem
Sterling
(0.47),
showing
that
Torres’
high
goals
frequency
comes
from
being
a
consistent
threat.

Torres’
1.1
chances
created
on
average
is
well
down
the
list
at
City,
however.
While
this
may
partly
reflect
the
fact
he
has
featured
as
a
central
striker
often,
perhaps
greater
productivity
in
this
area
would
have
seen
City
put
up
more
of
a
fight
to
keep
him.

Nevertheless,
the
signing
represents
something
of
a
coup
for
a
Barcelona
that
just
a
few
months
ago
was
incapable
of
paying
for
players
of
such
a
calibre.