Barcelona, Man City agree fee for Torres – reports

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Barcelona have agreed a fee worth an initial 55 million euros ($62 million, £47 million) for Manchester City forward Ferran Torres, according to reports in Spain and England on Wednesday.

The Spanish international, 22, joined City from Valencia for a fee of just over £20 million in August 2020.

Torres has scored 16 goals in 43 appearances for the English champions as City won the Premier League, League Cup and reached the final of the Champions League during his only full season in Manchester.

But his second season at City has been disrupted by a fractured foot that has kept him out since October.

Barca are looking to bolster their forward line after City’s all-time record goalscorer Sergio Aguero was forced to retire earlier this month due to a heart condition, just months into his spell with the Catalan giants.

Already eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in 20 years, Barca face a fight just to qualify for next season’s competition as they sit seventh in La Liga ahead of the winter break.

However, they could even still have trouble registering Torres within the salary cap imposed by La Liga.

Lionel Messi’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain was caused by the club being unable to retain the Argentine due to spiralling debts.

Barca recorded losses of 481 million euros last season, with a gross debt of 1.35 billion euros.