Marc-Andre ter Stegen finds himself in a tricky situation at Barcelona and there’s no obvious solution in sight as we head towards the start of pre-season.
Barcelona have signed Joan Garcia from Espanyol, presumably to be first choice, and Wojciech Szczęsny is expected to sign a renewal and be Hansi Flick’s No. 2.
Deco has already washed his hands of the situation, insisting there’s no need for him to talk to Ter Stegen and it’s up to Flick to deliver the bad news.
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Meanwhile, the negative reports about Ter Stegen continue. Sport say he’ll only leave if his contract is paid up, while Mundo Deportivo are talking about the club wanting to take the captaincy away.
Perhaps more interestingly, there’s a distinct lack of noise about potential interest from other clubs. There’s been a few whispers of interest from Galastasaray and a phone call from Monaco but that apppears to be it so far.
So where could Ter Stegen go next? A move to another club in Spain seems impossible, and there don’t appear any takers in the Premier League either.
Manchester United and Chelsea have both had goalkeeping issues recently but a 33-year-old stopper just back from a serious knee injury is unlikely to be the answer to their problems.
FC Barcelona v Real Madrid CF - La Liga EA Sports Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Barca will likely be hoping the Saudi clubs take an interest as they are said to be desperate to get his hefty salary off the wage bill. The German is one of the team’s top earners and is contracted to the club until 2028.
Yet that interest hasn’t materialised so far and it’s difficult to see Ter Stegen agreeing to head to the Middle East for a stint in the Saudi Pro League at this point.
But as much as Ter Stegen seemingly doesn’t want to leave there is the small matter of World Cup 2026 to think about. The German missed most of last season through injury but remains the team’s No.1 a year out from the tournament.
However, another season on the bench would surely have an impact on Julian Nagelsmann’s thinking and is perhaps the main reason Barcelona think he can be offloaded this summer.