Barcelona agree initial €55m fee to sign Manchester City’s Ferran Torres
Barcelona have agreed an initial €55m (£46.7m) deal to sign Ferran Torres from Manchester City, with additional clauses that could take the fee to €65m.
The La Liga club are expected to offer the Spain international a lucrative five-year contract, despite their widely reported financial issues.
Torres could travel to Spain in the next 24 hours to finalise contract arrangements and undergo a medical, with Barcelona already working on a statement to announce his signing.
The 21-year-old has not featured for City since late September after injuring a foot on international duty but has resumed training and his condition is not expected to be a barrier to a move. Before his injury the forward had been in excellent form, scoring seven in 11 appearances for club and country.
Torres has been seen as a priority target for Barcelona’s manager, Xavi Hernández, particularly with the premature retirement of Sergio Agüero, who moved to the Camp Nou from City in the summer but managed only 339 minutes before suffering chest pains against Alavés in late October. Agüero confirmed his retirement this month due to a heart problem.
Barcelona are seventh in La Liga, two points off a top-four berth. Lowered expectations, the arrival of Xavi, the emergence of Gavi and the new long-term contracts for Pedri and Ansu Fati have improved the club’s outlook after a miserable summer during which Lionel Messi left against a backdrop mounting debt.
Pep Guardiola values Torres’s contribution at City this season but the potential fee is seen as a good return for a player who cost the club €27m (£24.5m) in August 2020.