Garcia: 'Feel very at home and looking forward to the Bundesliga atmosphere'

Aleix Garcia on…

…his first days under the Cross: "I feel very at home. I've been well received by the whole team. Xabi [Alonso] talks to me in Spanish, which makes it easier for me to settle at the moment. Everything's still new to me currently, but I've enjoyed the first days. The weather has also been great this week - I know it's not normally that similar to Spain (laughs). That's no problem, though. I'm here to play football and not for holiday!"

…his reasons for moving to Leverkusen: "It was a difficult decision. We built something at Girona last season and achieved a lot with qualification for the Champions League. Changes are part of football, though. I now see a great opportunity at Leverkusen to further my development and I'm very happy with my decision. I'm confident I'll find my feet quickly since we played a similar style at Girona."

…the role of head coach Xabi Alonso in the negotiations: "I followed Bayer 04 last season. They played great football and won trophies. Xabi explained on the phone what he expects from me. The first impression was very positive. Xabi was a magnificent player and is now a good coach. He's also an important reason why I signed for Bayer 04."

…his playing style and the high competition in his position: "I'm a midfielder, I like to move a lot. I like my position because I have direct contact with both the defence and the attack. I'm aware there's a lot of competition in my position. It won't be easy but I think competition is a good thing. Granit [Xhaka], Exequiel [Palacios] and Rob [Andrich] are good midfield players and we'll push each other forward. It's an honour for me to play with them. I'll work hard every day to show that I'm ready."

…the Bundesliga and early impressions of the Bayer 04 fans: "There are some other strong teams in the league who are also represented in Europe. Admittedly I've never played against a German team before but I expect a very physical and high-quality league. I've also spoken to a few people about the Bundesliga and they all said to me that the atmosphere is great, which I'm looking forward to. There have already been a lot of fans at training in the last few days - in Spain you might get that once or twice a year. I find that really nice here. I like the contact to the fans because at the end of the day, it's they who come to every match at the stadium and support the team. I'm already massively looking forward to the matches."