(Reuters) – Barcelona unveiled new signing Ferran Torres at Camp Nou on Monday and the former Manchester City striker said he was ready to get going after being sidelined since October with a fractured foot.
“I’ll be ready in less than two weeks,” the 21-year-old Spaniard, who suffered a minor fracture on his right foot during last year’s Nations League campaign, told hundreds of Barca supporters present at the unveiling.
“Today is a great day for me. Having played for two coaches with Barcelona roots, like Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola, has helped me to adapt to the Barca DNA. I’m looking forward to putting myself under Xavi Hernandez’s orders.”
The striker signed a contract until June 2027, with a release clause of 1 billion euros.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but British and Spanish media reported that Barcelona had agreed a transfer fee of around 55 million euros ($62.5 million), with a further 10 million euros in add-ons.
Torres returns to Spain after joining City from Valencia in August 2020 and made 43 appearances for the English top-flight side in all competitions, scoring 16 goals.
“This is a dream. We all know the kind of club Barca are. I’m going to give everything I have inside of me to take Barca where they deserve,” said Torres, who has scored 12 goals in 22 internationals.
“I’m almost fit and ready to play. The injury is almost healed and soon I’ll try my best to give joy to our supporters.”
Barcelona were forced to allow their all-time leading scorer Lionel Messi to leave the club last year due to “financial and structural obstacles” and have debts of more than 1.35 billion euros.
Barcelona’s attacking options were weakened further with the retirement of Argentine forward Sergio Aguero at the age of 33 last month due to a heart condition.
Barcelona climbed two places to fifth in LaLiga on Sunday after a poor start to the campaign which resulted in the sacking of coach Ronald Koeman, with former club captain Xavi Hernandez taking over the reins in November.
($1 = 0.8806 euros)
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
