Guardiola confirms the defender's decision to leave Man City

Eric Garcia appears keen to leave Manchester City after telling Pep Guardiola he does not want to sign a new contract.

The defender, whose deal expires at the end of next season, has been linked with a possible move to Barcelona.

Speaking ahead of City's Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Friday, manager Guardiola confirmed Garcia has turned down the opportunity of extending his stay at the Etihad Stadium.

"He announced to us he doesn't want to extend the contract with Manchester City," Guardiola told reporters.

"He has one more year. We want it, but he doesn't want to extend the contract."

The news puts Garcia's participation in Friday's game in doubt, despite the 19-year-old having established himself as first-choice partner for Aymeric Laporte in recent weeks. 

Leroy Sane only played 11 minutes in the Premier League in 2019-20 after recovering from knee ligament surgery, having confirmed he wanted to leave the club. 

If Garcia does not start against Madrid, it is likely Fernandinho will partner Laporte at the heart of the City defence, with Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones having fallen down the pecking order. 

Garcia has made 22 senior appearances for City in all competitions since joining in 2017. 

He had previously spent his youth career at Barca's famous La Masia academy.