Eric Garcia feels 'great to be home' as he is unveiled as Barcelona player - in pictures

Barcelona on Tuesday confirmed that Manchester City defender Eric Garcia will join them on July 1 when his contract with the Premier League champions expires.

Garcia will return to his boyhood club on a deal until the end of the 2025-26 campaign after three years at City and follows striker Sergio Aguero in making the switch from Manchester to the Camp Nou.

"It's great to be home. It was always my dream to play for Barcelona and to have the chance to get changed in the dressing room just now was an amazing feeling of happiness," Garcia said as he was unveiled at Camp Nou on Tuesday.

"It's always a great time to join Barca. The president has set us on an upward path, full of youth and experience.

"My dream is to be a success here, and the only important thing is what happens in the future."

Garcia came through the academy at Camp Nou before joining City's youth set-up in 2017.

Barca said they had included a €400 million ($489.52 million) buyout clause in the 20-year-old Garcia's contract.

The defender was limited to 12 matches in all competitions during the 2020-21 season due to injuries and illness.

Argentine striker Aguero, who will officially join Barca on a two-year deal on July 1, said he hoped to play alongside compatriot Lionel Messi.

Messi will see his contract expire this month and there has been no news of an extension.

"I hope we can play together," Aguero had said. "But the thing with Leo is that he'll make decisions with the club. I've been with him since a kid with the national team, I know him very well, and think he'll stay here."

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

THE BIO

Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist

Age: 78

Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”

Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”

Other hobbies: football

Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

UAE currency

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
Travel distance: Limited
Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Source: Can be carried from distant regions

The story in numbers

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee