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Barcelona have offered Ferran Torres back to Manchester City due to concerns they will not be able to register their new signing.
The Blaugrana presented Torres as their player on Monday, having paid an initial £46 million to sign him on a five-year contract.
A €1 billion release contract has been inserted into his deal but the club's financial situation is still so bad that they cannot add him to the squad.
Barca are said to be worried they might not be able to free up space on the wage bill and according to Cadena Ser, have even explored sending Torres back to City for the rest of the campaign if they cannot register him.
The club are reportedly paying the Torres fee in four installments but they also owe City €1.5million in relation to a deal involving Denis Suarez a few years back.
Barca's director of football Mateu Alemany says the club were aware of the situation when they bought the former Valencia man.
"The reality is that when we signed Ferran we knew we had no salary to register him just yet.
"We assume we can and we have been working on various ways in which to do this.
"We are convinced that we will achieve it before Sunday [when Barcelona play Granada]."
Torres is currently recovering from a foot injury he sustained on international duty with Spain, though it's now been confirmed he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Still, Barca boss Xavi believes the 21-year-old can be a very important player for the Catalan club going forward.
"Ferran Torres is a spectacular signing, both as a player and a person," Xavi said in a press conference on Saturday.
"He’s coming off an important injury, he has fantastic commitment, he’s going to give us a lot, I’ve no doubt about it. He can play in different positions, I’m very happy with the effort made by the club to get him.
“His greatest virtue is his personality, he’s very ambitious, excited, implicated with a high commitment, you can see it in his eyes. The mentality he has is tremendous, hopefully you will be able to see it soon.”
Torres spent just over one-and-a-half seasons with City after joining in a £20.8 million move, scoring 16 times and winning the Premier League.
In recent times, senior players like Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba agreed wage so new signings could be registered.
Featured Image Credit: Image: PATopics: Manchester City, Barcelona, Valencia
Josh Lawless