Barcelona now know how much Manchester City want for Ferran Torres

Barcelona have worked quietly on the signing of Ferran Torres in recent months, but there's no longer any need for discretion. All the cards are now on the table and Barça and Manchester City will try and find an agreement that satisfied all parties.

Director of football Mateu Alemany and CEO Ferran Reverter's trip to Manchester on Friday was proof that the club are serious about Ferran. The former Valencia attacker is the chosen one and Barça will go all out for him.

Ferran wants to move to Barça and has told Pep Guardiola as much. Guardiola is not against his exit as long as there is an agreement between the two clubs -- an area where Pep will have no say.

Friday's meeting served for various things. Firstly, optimism for Barça, given City were even willing to sit down with them to discuss the possibility of the 21-year-old Spain international moving to Camp Nou.

On the flip side, City are aware of Ferran's value. They told Barça that he will cost them 80 million euros, a figure the Catalan club, as much as they may want to, would not be able to pay due to their financial situation.

Even though everyone knows Barça's situation, it's also true they believe they could go as high as 50 million with add ons in the hope of convincing City to sell. It's a difference of 30 million. The add ons could be key.

Even so, Barça's main problem is still having 50 million available in January. A lot of work needs to be done to make that possible.

Barça continue to work on a January transfer but there are other options, such as a loan at first with an obligation to buy next summer. In the worst-case scenario, they may even have to wait until next summer. The 'game' will be long and City aren't being flexible yet.

So far, no player exchange has been mentioned. The two clubs have only discussed a transfer. However, Barça could be obliged to seek other formulas to achieve their objective.