One of the biggest surprises of Barcelona’s pre-season debut had to do with Joan García. Not because the former Espanyol goalkeeper made his Blaugrana debut, but because of the number on the back of his shirt whilst doing so.
García is expected to be in goal when Barcelona start the La Liga season with a visit to Mallorca on Aug.16. However, García raised more than a few eyebrows when he took the pitch over the weekend in a friendly vs. Vissel Kobe wearing the No.1.
For the past 11 years, Barcelona’s No.1 has belonged exclusively to the current captain of the team: Marc-André ter Stegen. García’s signing earlier in the summer felt like a direct sign that the club are ready to move on from their long-time starting goalkeeper. Yet, Ter Stegen is still a Barcelona player.
“It’s just for the summer,” Hansi Flick told DAZN regarding García’s shirt number. “Every number is for the summer. Of course, Pedri has No. 8, Lamine [Yamal], I don’t know, today he was No. 10 and 11 Raphinha. It’s only for the summer.”
Though his intentions might’ve been different, Flick didn’t help ease the situation considering the players he named wore those same numbers throughout the 2024–25 season. The one exception is Yamal, who Barcelona very publicly announced would be the new bearer of the No. 10 shirt.
Ter Stegen will undergo back surgery in the coming days as was reported last week. The German goalkeeper asserted he could be back on the pitch in three months, not a minor detail considering reports indicated Barcelona planned to offload 80% of his salary in order to register García, something that can only be done if Ter Stegen is out over four months.
García’s pre-season shirt number is simply another chapter in the Ter Stegen saga with Barça that’s been going on all summer, one that still doesn’t seem close to being over.
Victor Váldes owned Barcelona’s No.1 shirt prior to Ter Stegen joining the Catalans. After 11 years, another Catalan goalkeeper has joined Barça poised to take over.
Flick very well could be telling the truth and García will play with a different number once the 2025–26 season begins. However, all eyes will be focused on the number on García’s back when Barça take the pitch against Mallorca to see if they’ve stripped their club captain of the number he’s worn since 2014–15.
READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joan Garcia Sparks Controversy on Barcelona Debut.