Uncertainty reigns over Barcelona new signing’s shirt number ahead of Mallorca encounter

Barcelona summer signing Joan Garcia will travel to Mallorca this morning with the confidence of knowing that he will be able to play in their opening league match.

La Liga confirmed early on Saturday that the club had successfully registered the 24-year-old goalkeeper, and the former Espanyol player now also appears in Barcelona’s official roster section on the league’s official website.

Confusion over Joan Garcia’s shirt number

However, Garcia’s registration has raised a question: which shirt number will he wear on his official debut for Barcelona?

At present, the only Barcelona goalkeeper listed with a number on La Liga’s website is Inaki Pena, who appears with the No. 1.

Courtesy: La Liga official website

The La Masia graduate has been wearing #13 in recent seasons and also during pre-season, but the league’s website shows him with the No. 1, previously worn by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, in what could possibly be a glitch on the league’s behalf.

Meanwhile, neither Ter Stegen nor Garcia have been assigned a number. Barcelona have also not published the official squad numbers, meaning it will take a few more hours to clarify which number the summer signing will wear.

Throughout Barcelona’s pre-season, including the Joan Gamper Trophy, Garcia wore the No. 1 shirt, and even during the club’s official presentation before the Como game, both he and Ter Stegen appeared with the same number.

The matter should be resolved when manager Hansi Flick announces the squad list of players who will be travelling to Mallorca for the opening game of the season this evening.