Ferran Torres completes £47m move from Man City to Barcelona

The Spain international has signed a five-and-a-half year contract at the Camp Nou with a buy-out clause for €billion

(EPA)

Ferran Torres has completed a move to Barcelona from Manchester City and penned a five-and-a-half year contract.

The move will cost an initial €55m (£47m) fee which could rise to more than €60m (£51m), while the Spain international’s buyout clause has been set at €1 billion.

The player will be presented at the Camp Nou on 3 January and becomes the first signing of the Xavi era. Torres is also the most expensive Spanish signing in Barcelona’s history.

City have made a significant profit on Torres, who only joined in a £20.9m move from Valencia during the summer of 2020 and has missed the last two months with a foot injury.

The 21-year-old had become frustrated with a perceived lack of playing time under Pep Guardiola, having made a total of 43 appearances since his arrival.

Ferran Torres celebrates with his City teammates (Getty)

Guardiola has also dismissed suggestions that a replacement signing for Torres will be made next month.

“No, we’re not going to bring in any striker in January,” said manager Guardiola at a press conference when asked if this could now be a possibility.

“I want the happiness of my players. If we had just two or three attacking players then maybe Ferran would think he had more chance to play and stay longer. But always I have the feeling that when Barcelona or Real Madrid knock on the door of players then it is difficult to say no.

“They are still the strongest teams in the world in terms of fashion, cities and many reasons. He is from Spain, Barcelona knock and I understand why he wants to leave. I cannot convince the players to do something when their mind isn’t here. It makes no sense. Other clubs make them stay, I don’t agree with that.”

The signing of Torres has been completed despite Barcelona's well-documented financial problems, which led to the departure of Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain and the imposition of a €97m (£82m) salary cap on the club by La Liga.

Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti are among the players that Barcelona are hoping to offload during the January window in order to ease their financial issues.

Torres scored 13 goals from 36 appearances in all competitions for City last season and has three goals in seven games this term.

While his move to City has coincided with an impressive run of form for his country, including an important role for Spain in their run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020. Torres has contributed 12 goals in 22 caps to date, with Barcelona evidently valuing his potential to become a cornerstone for La Roja over the next decade.

Torres leaves the Etihad having won the Premier League and Carabao Cup, while also part of the side that finished runner-up to Chelsea in last season’s Champions League.