Joan Garcia has been at Barcelona for a little over a year, and the club has already built a financial wall around him. Reports from Spanish and Australian outlets put the release clause in his contract in the region of €500 million, aligned with the tier reserved for the club’s most protected assets.
The size of that figure has more to do with Premier League geography than with the transfer market for goalkeepers. English clubs have circled Garcia at every step of his career, from his last months at Espanyol to his first year at Barcelona, and Barcelona’s clause is the closest thing the Spanish system offers to a lock.
Barcelona signed the 25-year-old from Espanyol in June 2025 after triggering his €25 million release clause, with an inflation-adjusted total of €26.34 million paid to La Liga. He signed a six-year contract that runs until 30 June 2031. A year on, the club is reported to have aligned his exit price with Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Pau Cubarsi, though Barcelona has never formally confirmed the figure.
Zamora Trophy in his first season
Garcia’s debut year justified the strategy. He won the 2025/26 Zamora Trophy, awarded to the goalkeeper with the best goals-against average in La Liga, after playing 30 league games and conceding 21 goals across 2,790 minutes. Twenty of his saves were logged as decisive by the league’s stats provider.
Read also: Yamal narrows the Ballon d'Or race to 'me and Mbappé' and puts himself in front
He is the 12th goalkeeper in Barcelona’s history to lift the award, following names such as Andoni Zubizarreta, Victor Valdes, Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Premier League interest, again
Arsenal chased Garcia in the last window of his Espanyol career, and Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Bournemouth were all linked before Barcelona moved. The current chapter is a north-London one: Australian outlet Football360 reports that Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been sending scouts to matches to assess his build-up play, footwork and decision-making under pressing.
No formal negotiations exist. Barcelona’s stance is that Garcia is a long-term pillar, and any sale would require a bid that meets the release clause.
What €500m actually means in La Liga
Release clauses in Spain function differently from asking prices elsewhere. La Liga contracts must contain a fixed buyout figure that any club can pay to unilaterally terminate the contract, with the money passing through the league. A €500m clause is not the price Barcelona would accept in negotiation. It is the price a buyer would have to deposit with La Liga to remove the club from the conversation entirely.
Read also: 'Not my night, no excuses': Conor Benn in the hospital
No English club has ever paid anywhere near that for a goalkeeper. The Premier League record for a keeper stands well below €100m, which is why Spanish sides have leaned on the clause structure to keep top talent from drifting to England.
Garcia, an Olympic gold medallist with Spain in Paris in 2024, is now first-choice at Barcelona and continues to feature regularly for the club, according to the club’s official records.
Barcelona begin their 2026/27 Champions League campaign later this month, with Garcia set to remain first-choice between the posts.
Read also: 'We didn't deserve to win': Antonelli's uneasy Madring victory
Read also: Ronaldo chases the one Champions League he has never won
