Barcelona goalkeeper Garcia targets Champions League glory after World Cup triumph

MADRID, July 29 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia has set his sights on winning the Champions League as the club prepares for the 2026-27 season.

Garcia was part of Spain's squad that won this summer's World Cup, although he had to settle for a place on the bench behind first-choice goalkeeper Unai Simon.

The 25-year-old is currently on a three-week break while most of Barcelona's squad is at a pre-season training camp in England. However, Garcia said he has continued working individually to ensure he is ready for the new campaign.

"I'm on holiday in the sense that I'm not training with the team, but I'm continuing to work on my own and taking advantage of these days to train more intensively," Garcia said while attending a children's campus named after him.

"I intend to be able to start in the first league match [against Elche on August 23]."

Garcia enjoyed a memorable 2025-26 season, winning the World Cup with Spain and helping Barcelona claim La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. But he added that the club's biggest target for the coming campaign must be the Champions League - a title that has eluded Barcelona since 2015.

"Last year we won La Liga and the Super Cup, and individually I won the World Cup this summer," Garcia said.

"Looking ahead to next season, the idea is to keep winning and win the Champions League, which is the most important tournament and comparable to the World Cup."

However, Garcia acknowledged that lifting Europe's top club trophy would be far from straightforward.

"It's good to have this ambition, but we shouldn't get obsessed, because only one team wins it," he said. ■