Jose Mourinho’s return to the Clasico bench has altered the temperature around the fixture, and Barcelona’s first-choice goalkeeper wants his team-mates to turn the volume down.
“I think we need to distance ourselves a little more from all that and focus on ourselves,” Joan Garcia told Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan daily that sat down with him during Spain’s international break.
The 25-year-old argued that fixating on what Mourinho or Real Madrid are doing would be a trap, particularly inside Hansi Flick’s dressing room, and said the squad’s only job is to make sure its own level stays high.
Context: a loss at Camp Nou
Garcia’s words land after a chastening first Clasico of the Mourinho era. Real Madrid won 2-1 at Camp Nou on 25 October, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice and ending a nine-game Barcelona winning run in La Liga. The result also tipped the all-time Clasico head-to-head in Real Madrid’s favour, 107 wins to 106.
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Mourinho was appointed Real Madrid manager on 11 June 2026, 13 years after his first spell at the club ended. Camp Nou was his first competitive Clasico back in the dugout, and Garcia’s framing reads as an attempt to stop that single defeat from colouring everything else in Barcelona’s season.
Champions League a target, not an obsession
The second strand of the interview went to Europe. Barcelona have not reached a Champions League final since 2015, and Garcia was asked whether the club could add the trophy to its domestic haul this season.
He said the squad has the depth to compete on every front, but was careful with the ambition.
“It’s a target, but it doesn’t have to become an obsession, because that can end up being counterproductive,” the goalkeeper told Mundo Deportivo, placing the Champions League alongside La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa as competitions Barcelona want to win rather than above them.
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That line sits awkwardly with the Mourinho conversation only on the surface. Garcia’s point in both cases is the same: anything that pulls attention away from the next training session is counterproductive.
Garcia back in the Spain squad
Garcia is speaking from the Spanish national team’s training camp, having pushed into Luis de la Fuente’s senior picture on the back of his form since joining Barcelona from Espanyol in the summer of 2025.
At club level he has been part of Flick’s starting XI. The German manager reached 100 wins at Barcelona in early November. Garcia told Mundo Deportivo he is still gaining experience and adapting to Flick’s style of play, learning when to act and when not to.
After 10 matches, Barcelona led La Liga on 27 points when the Clasico was played, three points clear of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
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