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Barcelona have confirmed that new signing Ferran Torres will take the No. 19 shirt number at the Camp Nou following his move from Premier League champions Manchester City.
The 21-year-old has been officially registered with the Catalan giants, after Samuel Umtiti agreed a contract extension on a reduced salary, and will take over the No. 19 shirt from Sergio Aguero.
Aguero confirmed in December 2021 that he was retiring from professional football due to a heart condition. The Argentine took the No. 19 shirt when he arrived at the Camp Nou after deciding against wearing Lionel Messi’s famous No. 10 which is now owned by Ansu Fati.
The No. 19 shirt has been worn by plenty of famous names at Barcelona including goalscorers such as Juan Antonio Pizzi and Patrick Kluivert. Messi also wore the number briefly between 2006 and 2008 in his early years with the first team.
Torres Set For Clasico Debut?
Torres could now make his Barcelona debut in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, January 12. The forward is available after testing negative for Covid-19 and recovering from a foot injury.
The new signing has already been making his presence felt in training ahead of the game. Barca showed the Spain international looking in sharp form in front of goal on social media.
Xavi spoke about the possibility of Torres debuting ahead of the game at a pre-match press conference. He told reporters, “We will see whether Ferran, Ansu, and Pedri will start tomorrow. They will have minutes, and see how far they can go. It’s important to see how they are physically. We don’t want to lose more players.”
Busquets Excited By Barcelona’s Youngsters
Torres joins an exciting crop of youngsters at Barcelona, particularly teenagers such as Ansu Fati, Gavi, and Nico Gonzalez who have come through the club’s famous La Masia youth academy.
Captain Sergio Busquets also spoke at a news conference ahead of the Super Cup Clasico and explained how pleased he is to be playing with so many talented youngsters at Barcelona.
“I am very happy when young players come up through the youth teams for what it represents for the first team. Football has changed and everything moves really quickly. That means young players are ready to come through earlier,” he said. “However, we should not pile pressure on them but take advantage of their ambition and talent. They are players who will mark the current and future path for the club.”
Torres is still only 21 but already possesses bags of experience. The forward has won the Copa del Rey with Valencia, the Premier League with Manchester City and was also part of the City squad that made it to last season’s Champions League final.
The youngster is also one of a host of Spain internationals at Barca including Busquets, Jordi Alba, Eric Garcia, Sergi Roberto, Ansu Fati, Pedri, and Gavi and has already played with many of his new teammates at international level.
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