Ferran Torres Misses Barcelona Training for PSG Move

Ferran Torres, Spain’s World Cup match-winner, has been granted permission to miss Barcelona training as he closes in on a move to Paris St-Germain worth in excess of £40m.

The 26-year-old forward, who struck the extra-time winner against Argentina to deliver Spain’s second World Cup title this summer, was scheduled to report back to Barcelona on Wednesday. Instead, he will stay away from the training ground as negotiations with PSG enter the final stretch.

World Cup hero on the move

Torres’ stock has never been higher. His decisive goal on the biggest stage has pushed him into the elite bracket, and PSG have moved quickly.

The French champions, who face Aston Villa in the Super Cup final in Salzburg on Wednesday night, are prepared to pay more than £40m for a player entering the final year of his Barcelona contract. With that clock ticking, the Catalan club face a clear choice: cash in now or risk losing him for nothing next summer.

Around the club, some supporters have bristled at how openly Torres has discussed his future. The forward has never hidden that he is listening.

On a media tour in the United States after Spain’s World Cup triumph, he struck a realistic tone. “I have a contract with Barcelona but, in football, you never know,” he said.

Pressed on PSG’s interest, he did not dodge the subject. “Every time these teams want you it’s a good thing. You never know because in football everything can change in one minute, so I have to be ready for everything.”

Those words now feel less like a cliché and more like a roadmap.

PSG rebuild, Barcelona reset

PSG, European champions in each of the past two seasons, are being reshaped again under Luis Enrique, the former Barcelona coach and player who knows Torres’ profile and personality well.

The French club may also need to cover themselves in attack. Bradley Barcola could depart this summer, with Liverpool circling, and Torres offers goals, versatility across the front line and big-game experience.

For Barcelona, the move would mark the end of a relatively short spell. Torres arrived at Camp Nou in 2022 after two years at Manchester City, brought in as part of a new attacking cycle that has already seen several changes. His time in Spain has been solid rather than spectacular at club level, but his international record is striking: 25 goals in 65 appearances for Spain.

Now, with one year left on his deal and the World Cup still fresh in everyone’s memory, Barcelona stand on the verge of losing a player whose value may never be higher.

If the final details fall into place, Torres will swap Catalonia for Paris, Barcelona’s uncertainty for PSG’s relentless Champions League expectations, and the glow of a World Cup summer for the unforgiving spotlight of a club that demands European dominance every single year.