# Eric García (footballer, born 2001)

Eric García Martret (born 9 January 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.
García moved from Barcelona at the age of 17 to Manchester City. He made his Premier League debut on 21 September 2019. In his final season at the club, he won the league and was runner-up in the UEFA Champions League. In June 2021, García rejoined Barcelona on a free transfer, following the expiration of his contract.

## Club career
### Early career

Born in Martorell, Barcelona, Catalonia, García was a part of La Masia, the Barcelona academy, before joining Manchester City in 2017. During his first season at City, he captained the under 18s and played for the under 19s in the UEFA Youth League.

### Manchester City

He joined up with the first team during their 2018 summer pre-season in the United States. On 18 December 2018, García made his debut for City, starting in the EFL Cup quarter-final against Leicester City. He played in a centre-back pairing with Nicolás Otamendi, with the game finishing 1–1, City winning the tie on penalties. He made his Premier League debut on 21 September 2019 when he came on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Otamendi in an 8–0 win over Watford.
García played two full games back to back for City over the Christmas and New Year period in 2019. The first game was against Sheffield United at home, which City won 2–0. A second home game in a couple of days, saw a second start for García, with City recording a 2–1 victory against Everton.
On 17 June 2020, García was in the starting eleven against Arsenal for City's first game back after the COVID-19 pandemic break, with City recording a 3–0 win. Towards the end of the game, García was involved in a collision with goalkeeper Ederson and initially left him unconscious. García received lengthy on-field treatment before being stretchered off and supplied with oxygen. Despite the seriousness of the incident, García was discharged from hospital the next day. Manager Pep Guardiola stated in a press conference García's injury was a concussion and expected him to be fit within 10 days.
On 6 August 2020, Guardiola announced in a press conference that García had rejected a contract extension, despite ending the league campaign as City's first-choice partner for Aymeric Laporte.

### Barcelona

On 1 June 2021, García agreed to sign for La Liga club Barcelona on a free transfer on a five-year contract starting 1 July, with a buyout clause set at €400 million. On 15 August 2021, he played his first competitive match for the club as he started the league opening game, a 4–2 victory against Real Sociedad. On 21 August, he was sent off after receiving a straight red card for his last-ditch tackle on Nico Williams in a 1–1 draw against Athletic Bilbao. On 29 September, García was sent off for the second time after receiving two yellow cards in a 3–0 Champions League group stage thrashing by Benfica.

#### Loan to Girona

On 1 September 2023, García was loaned to fellow top tier side Girona for the 2023–24 season. On 27 September, he scored his first goal for Girona to secure a 2–1 away win over Villarreal, which granted his club the top place in La Liga after seven matches for the first time in their history. He eventually scored five goals in total, becoming one of the league's top-scoring defenders.

#### Return to Barcelona

García returned to Barcelona after his loan spell ended. On 4 January 2025, he scored his first goal since rejoining the team in a 4–0 away victory over UD Barbastro in the Copa del Rey. Later that month, on 21 January, he netted his maiden Champions League goal in a 5–4 away victory over Benfica.

## International career

After representing Spain at under-19 and under-21 levels, García received his first senior call-up on 20 August 2020, for two UEFA Nations League fixtures against Germany and Ukraine. He made his senior international debut against Ukraine on 6 September 2020, replacing Sergio Ramos in the 61st minute as Spain won 4–0. On 24 May 2021, García was included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. Additionally, García was included in the squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Manchester City U21 | 2018–19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Manchester City | 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Manchester City | 2019–20 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Manchester City | 2020–21 | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 |
| Manchester City | Total | Total | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Barcelona | 2021–22 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Barcelona | 2022–23 | La Liga | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| Barcelona | 2023–24 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Barcelona | 2024–25 | La Liga | 18 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 3 |
| Barcelona | Total | Total | 70 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 4 |
| Girona (loan) | 2023–24 | La Liga | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 33 | 5 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 121 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 167 | 9 |
* ↑ Includes FA Cup and Copa del Rey
* ↑ Includes EFL Cup
* ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy
* 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearance in Supercopa de España

### International

    As of match played 17 November 2022
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Spain | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| Spain | 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| Spain | 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 19 | 0 |

## Honours

Manchester City
* Premier League: 2020–21
* EFL Cup: 2019–20
* FA Community Shield: 2019
* UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2020–21
Barcelona
* La Liga: 2022–23
* Supercopa de España: 2023, 2025
Spain U17
* UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2017
* FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 2017
Spain U19
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2019
Spain U23
* Olympic Gold Medal: 2024; silver medal: 2020
Spain
* UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2020–21
Individual
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2019
* IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2021
* IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) UEFA Team: 2020, 2021