Ferran Torres asked Pep Guardiola to let him go to FC Barcelona

The Spanish manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, confirmed this Thursday that Ferran Torres is close to signing for FC Barcelona, when revealing that the forward has asked him to leave the English club.

“I always have the feeling that when Barcelona and Real Madrid knock on the door it’s hard to say no“Said Guardiola, former player and former coach of the Barça club.

“When he knocked on my door and said he wanted to go, I told him to go. I want my players to be happy. If you are not happy, you have to go. We are not a club where presidents and CEOs say ‘no, you have to stay,’ “continued the 50-year-old Catalan coach.

“The players and the clubs have to agree, this is a business, but if the player wants to leave, he leaves,” said Guardiola.

Despite their financial difficulties, Barça reportedly reached an agreement for 55 million euros (62 million dollars) with the British entity to sign the Spanish attacker.

Torres, 22, has scored 16 goals in 43 games for Manchester City since joining from Valencia last year. In just one season, he conquered the Premier League, the League Cup and played in the Champions League final.

But his second season with the ‘Citizens’ has been affected by a broken foot that has kept him off the pitch since October.

The manager also confirmed that Manchester City will not be looking for a forward in the January transfer market.

Guardiola’s pupils, without a natural forward, have eight consecutive victories and are three points ahead of second, Liverpool.

So far, Manchester City has avoided the coronavirus outbreaks that have led to the postponement of 12 Premier League matches in the last two weeks, due to the increase in the number of infections from the omicron variant. (D)