One former Manchester City player has opened up about his time at the Etihad Stadium.
Over the past few years, numerous players have made moves away from the Manchester club, either to fellow English sides or teams from abroad.
With another summer transfer window approaching, one player who spent some time at City under Pep Guardiola has opened up about his experience with the Citizens.
Former Man City player says it was a ‘dream’ to be at the club
Speaking in a recent interview with Sport, Eric Garcia had this to say about his time at City.
He said: “It was very good. I arrived there when I was 16 years old, I spent four seasons in the youth team, from the reserve team to the first team.
“The experience I gained there was everything. Everything I experienced there was a dream given I was so young.”
Back in the 2017 summer transfer window, City secured a deal to sign the defender from Barcelona’s youth ranks.
After making 50 combined appearances for City’s youth sides, chipping in with six goals along the way, the Spaniard made his senior debut for the Blues in December 2018 in a Carabao Cup clash against Leicester City when he was just 17.
Having then gone on to make 35 senior appearances for Guardiola’s side, the centre-back made a return to Barcelona during the 2021 summer transfer window as a free agent.
Garcia has spent this season on loan at Girona, where he has featured in 26 games across La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
Guardiola was a big fan of Eric Garcia
A few months before the defender waved goodbye to the Etihad, Guardiola had this to say about him.
He said: Eric Garcia is like a son. He was a guy last season that after lockdown was our best central defender. He never made a mistake and played in the quarter-final of the Champions League.
“He’s going to play in Barcelona and that is not an average player – he is a top player. He was not selected in the last two games and it broke my heart.
This highlights just how much the City boss admired the centre-back and how gutted he was that he didn’t give him the minutes he felt Garcia deserved.
