Espanyol boss Sergio Gonzalez has paid tribute to Sergio Garcia following the injured attacker’s decision to reject a ‘brutal’ offer from a Chinese club.
The 31-year-old revealed earlier in the week that he turned down a two-year deal, worth a staggering €20m, from Hebei Fortune FC, who ply their trade in the East Asian nation’s second tier, and the Coach was delighted with the conduct of his captain.
“[Sergio Garcia] is our designated player, our most important,” he said at a Press conference ahead of the Catalans’ match against Getafe in La Liga on Friday.
“Everyone connected to Espanyol must be very proud of our captain, for his commitment to the team. His technical ability and organisation [of the team] is clear.
“We savour his decision to reject such a brutal offer [from China] and together we’ll work to get him back in the squad because it’s a luxury to still have him here.
“It’s hard to not notice his absence. Losing Sergio Garcia is never good, but perhaps this is the best time that we could go without him.
“For the past month, the entire squad have taken a step forward and are at a high level. We must do our job, which is to win.
“[On potentially moving up to seventh in La Liga], I don’t pay attention to those things.
“[On the allegations of match-fixing involving Espanyol this week], it’s fashionable to report on things like this nowadays.
“The only thing I can say is that players can look me in the face and convey tranquillity. These things can’t happen. We must eradicate them.”
