Ferran Torres closing in on PSG move after World Cup victory
Ferran Torres, Spain’s World Cup match-winner and suddenly the most wanted forward in Europe, is closing in on a move to Paris Saint-Germain after being granted permission to skip Barcelona training.
The 26-year-old, who struck the extra-time winner against Argentina to seal Spain’s second World Cup title this summer, was due back with Barcelona on Wednesday. He will not report, with negotiations over a switch to PSG now at an advanced stage.
World Cup star on the move
Barcelona have allowed Torres to step away from club duties as the deal edges towards completion. The transfer is expected to be worth more than £40m, a significant fee for a player entering the final year of his contract.
That contract situation has hung over the club for months. Some Barça supporters have bristled at how openly Torres has discussed his future and the possibility of leaving Camp Nou, especially in the glow of his World Cup heroics.
On a media tour in the United States after lifting the trophy with Spain, Torres kept his options open.
“I have a contract with Barcelona but, in football, you never know,” he said.
Pressed on PSG’s interest, he did not duck the question.
“Every time these teams want you it’s a good thing,” he admitted. “You never know because in football everything can change in one minute, so I have to be ready for everything.”
The mood music around the deal has only grown louder since.
PSG move gathers pace
PSG, who face Aston Villa in the Super Cup final in Salzburg on Wednesday night, are pushing to add more firepower to a squad that has conquered Europe in each of the past two seasons. The French champions are managed by Luis Enrique, the former Barcelona coach and player who knows the demands of the Catalan club and the profile of forward it produces.
That connection adds an extra layer to this move. Torres, shaped by Barcelona’s environment and polished by a spell at Manchester City, fits the technical and tactical template Luis Enrique has trusted for years.
There is also a wider rebuild in motion in Paris. The club could lose Bradley Barcola this summer, with Liverpool interested in the forward. Torres would offer a proven alternative at the highest level, fresh from deciding a World Cup final and already accustomed to the pressure of elite clubs.
From Manchester to Barcelona – and now Paris?
Torres joined Barcelona in 2022 after two years at Manchester City, where he developed under Pep Guardiola before returning to Spain. His time at Barça has brought flashes of his best but has also been shaped by competition for places and the club’s financial realities.
For Spain, his record is emphatic: 25 goals in 65 appearances, capped by that extra-time strike against Argentina which instantly altered the course of his career.
Now, with his contract running down and PSG ready to spend, Barcelona face a familiar modern dilemma: cash in on a World Cup hero, or risk losing him for nothing in a year.
They appear to have made their choice. The next time Ferran Torres pulls on a club shirt, it may well be in Parisian blue under the lights of the Parc des Princes.
