Barcelona’s “deeply hurt” goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is reportedly prepared to stay in Catalonia and fight for his starting spot, while the club are intent on offloading the high earner.
Ter Stegen has served as Barcelona’s first-choice custodian for the past decade. However, the German spent much of the 2024–25 campaign out injured, watching on from the sidelines while Wojciech Szczęsny came out of retirement to help Hansi Flick’s side win a domestic treble.
Fully fit once again, it had been assumed that Ter Stegen would resume his role between the posts. Yet, Szczęsny remained in goal for the latter stages of the Champions League and—even more pertinently—Barcelona are thought to be in the final stages of a deal for Espanyol’s young shot-stopper Joan García.
García is expected to arrive as the club’s new No.1 one while sporting director Deco is thought to be of the opinion that Ter Stegen’s future lies elsewhere, according to SPORT. Deco has been tipped to “negotiate the best exit for all parties” this week.
Those talks may be complicated. Ter Stegen is thought to consider recent developments—including accusations of a clash with manager Hansi Flick—to be a “direct attack on his professional character” and has no intention of giving up his starting spot, let alone his lucrative salary.
Ter Stegen holds the edge with a contract which stretches until 2028. Yet, as SPORT points out, Barcelona could force the 33-year-old into a decision by warning that he will spend next season on the bench ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Without the promise of first-team action, Ter Stegen’s chances of representing his nation at the biggest tournament soccer has to offer will surely be slashed.
Julian Nagelsmann is the man in charge of making those selection decision. The Germany national team manager was quizzed about the topic of his goalkeeper’s future this week. “Given the past of the protagonists, I hope he receives information about what will happen next. That is my wish for Marc,” Nagelsmann told reporters.
“It’s really difficult for me to evaluate because I only hear about it from the media and I don’t know how much truth there is in it. [Ter Stegen] can approach the situation relatively relaxed. Nevertheless, I believe, as humans, that it concerns you.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Star ‘Going to War’ Over Transfer Fallout.