Marc-André ter Stegen has been reinstated as Barcelona captain after granting the club access to his medical records.
Having been struck down with a back injury, Ter Stegen’s public insistance that he would be sidelined for three months sparked significant tension at Barcelona, where club officials expected a four-month absence which would let them waive his wages against La Liga’s salary cap for the first half of the season.
Ter Stegen then blocked Barcelona from viewing his medical records. While well within his legal rights to do so, Barcelona argued this was not acceptable behavior from a club captain and stripped him of the armband.
A lengthy statement on social media from Ter Stegen sought to clarify the situation and Barcelona have now confirmed the situation has been resolved.
“The Club announces that the player Marc-André ter Stegen has signed the authorisation necessary for the Club to send La Liga the medical report relating to his surgery,” a club statement revealed.
“The disciplinary case has been closed and the player is captain of the first team once again with immediate effect.”
If Ter Stegen’s medical report suggests an absence of at least four months, Barcelona will be able to discount his salary from their total spend with La Liga for the first half of the campaign and use that space to register new signings, as was the case last season when Andreas Christensen’s injury opened the door for Dani Olmo.
Barcelona are sweating over the registrations of their new signings—Joan García, Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji—as well as any players who have signed new contracts. The biggest problem lies in goal as, alongside García, Barcelona cannot register the new deal of Wojciech Szczęsny either. Ter Stegen’s injury leaves the wantaway Iñaki Peña as the only senior option.
READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Confirm Marc-Andre ter Stegen U-Turn After Goalkeeper Statement.