Joan García Pons (born 4 May 2001) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. A native of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, García began his football career at CE Sallent before joining

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

’s youth system. He broke into the first team and eventually established himself as Espanyol’s starting goalkeeper. In June 2025, he moved to Barcelona after the club activated his

release clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

Club career

Espanyol

Born in Sallent,

, García began his career with hometown side at the age of four; initially an outfield player, he was influenced by his older brother to move to goal. He subsequently represented

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

and Damm before joining the youth sides of Espanyol in 2016, aged 15.

Beginnings and debut

García made his senior debut with the reserves on 28 September 2019, starting in a 1–1

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

away draw against

Valencia Mestalla Valencia Club de Fútbol Mestalla, shortened to Valencia Mestalla, is the reserve team of Valencia CF, a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community. Founded in 1944, and currently plays in , holding home games at '' Ciud ...

. On 11 February 2020, he renewed with the ''Pericos'' until 2025. García made his first-team debut on 1 December 2021, starting in a 3–2 away win over Solares-Medio Cudeyo in the season's

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. He made his professional – and

– debut on 10 January 2022, starting in a 1–2 home loss against

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

2022–2024: First team and breakthrough

After goalkeeper

Oier Olazábal Oier Olazábal Paredes (born 14 September 1989), known simply as Oier, is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for FC Andorra. Club career Barcelona Born in Irun, G ...

departed the club on 29 June 2022, García was handed the number one shirt in the 2022–23 campaign, moving from his previous number 34. Over the season, he served as a back-up in La Liga, featuring in three Copa del Rey matches. On 4 June 2023, the final day of the league campaign, García started in a 3–3 La Liga home draw against

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, although Espanyol had been relegated to the Second Division before the game. He ended the season with 4 appearances and 1

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

. On 16 November 2023, Espanyol announced that the club and García had reached an agreement to extend his contract until 30 June 2028. In March 2024, he became the first-choice goalkeeper for the ''Pericos'' in the Second Division. García finished the 2023–24 campaign with 21 appearances and 12 clean sheets, helping Espanyol secure promotion back to La Liga via the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. After winning the club's Player of the Month award in three consecutive months from March to May 2024, García was voted by Espanyol supporters as the club's Male Player of the Season.

2024–2025: First-choice status and La Liga

García continued as a starter in La Liga matches during the 2024–25 campaign. On 28 August 2024, he made seven saves to keep his first La Liga clean sheet in a 0–0 away draw against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

. Three days later, he helped Espanyol record their first La Liga victory of the campaign, a 2–1 home win against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. On 21 September, García made ten saves but it was not enough, as his side were defeated 4–1 by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

. In an away game against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

on 29 September, he produced ten saves again, including a penalty stop, but could not prevent a third consecutive loss for the ''Pericos''. On 3 November, García played in his first Barcelona derby and made six saves, as Espanyol were beaten 3–1 by their local rivals

at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium. In another Catalan derby on 23 November, he could not stop

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

from scoring four goals in the first 30 minutes, and the ''Pericos'' ultimately lost 4–1 at the

Estadi Montilivi Estadi Montilivi is a multi-use stadium in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is used mostly for Association football, football matches and serves as the home ground of Girona FC. It was built and opened in 1970. Montilivi has a capacity of 14,624. Hi ...

. On 14 December, García recorded his first La Liga clean sheet at home without making a save in a goalless draw against

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

. After suffering their eleventh defeat in eighteen league encounters this season, Espanyol headed into the winter break in eighteenth place in La Liga, just three points off the bottom of the table. On 1 February 2025, García produced a man of the match display with seven saves, helping Espanyol beat league leaders Real Madrid 1–0 at the RCDE Stadium, and recording his third clean sheet of the campaign. In an away game against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

on 9 February, he made a foot save to deny Luka Sučić, which would later win the La Liga Save of the Month award for February. In a 1–0 victory at Alavés on 22 February, García produced four saves, helping the ''Pericos'' end their long wait for a first La Liga away win of the season. On 10 March, García made a crucial stop to keep out Yangel Herrera's first-time volley in a home match against Girona that earned him the second La Liga Save of the Month award for March. By achieving the honour, he became the first player to have won the award in consecutive months. In an away game against

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

on 15 March, García saved two penalty kicks from

Vedat Muriqi Vedat Muriqi (born 24 April 1994) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Mallorca and the Kosovo national team. Club career Teuta Durrës On 14 January 2013, Muriqi had a trial at Kategoria Superiore c ...

and Abdón Prats, but the latter's was retaken after VAR deemed that an Espanyol player had entered the box prematurely, and Mallorca ultimately won 2–1 by beating García from the penalty spot on the third attempt. On 4 April, García kept his fifth clean sheet of the season with five saves in a 4–0 away triumph over Rayo Vallecano. By the end of the 2024–25 La Liga season, García recorded the highest number of saves among all goalkeepers in the league.

Barcelona

On 18 June 2025, Espanyol announced the player's departure after activating his €25 million plus taxes release clause. Subsequently, Barcelona announced his signing on a six-year contract until 2031.

International career

García is a youth international for Spain, having represented the Spain U17s, U18, U19s, and U21s. In July 2024, he was selected in the Spain under-23

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He and Spain would go on to win the Olympic gold medal at the men's football event in the Olympics.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Spain U23 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

gold medal:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Individual * Espanyol Male Player of the Season: 2023–24 * La Liga Save of the Month: February 2025, March 2025 * La Liga Team of the Season: 2024–25 * ''The Athletic'' La Liga Team of the Season: 2024–25

References

External links

Joan García
at the RCD Espanyol website
Joan García
at the La Liga website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Joan 2001 births Living people People from Bages Footballers from the Province of Barcelona Spanish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers CF Damm players RCD Espanyol B footballers RCD Espanyol footballers FC Barcelona players Segunda División B players Segunda División players La Liga players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Spain Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic gold medalists for Spain 21st-century Spanish sportsmen