Marc-Andre ter Stegen is increasingly likely to leave Barcelona in the January transfer window, according to multiple reports.
The 33-year-old is yet to play for the Catalan giants this season after undergoing a back operation in the summer, but he has now returned training and is eyeing up a much-anticipated first-team comeback in the not too distant future.
Ter Stegen has made a total of 422 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions since joining the club from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014, but he has only featured nine times since the end of the 2023-24 campaign due to injury.
The Germany international, who was sidelined with a serious knee injury between September 2024 and April 2025, has now lost his spot as Barca’s first-choice shot-stopper to new arrival Joan Garcia.
Garcia himself has had his own injury problems this term, missing nine matches with a knee problems, with 35-year-old Wojciech Szczesny filling in between the sticks in his absence.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen on August 12, 2024
Ter Stegen’s Barca departure seen as a ‘strategic opportunity’
Ter Stegen is under contract at Camp Nou until June 2028 and is believed to be determined to win back his starting spot under head coach and compatriot Hansi Flick.
However, Spanish news outlet madrid-barcelona.com claims that Ter Stegen has now accepted that he will need to leave Barcelona in January and gain regular game time elsewhere if he wishes to force his way into Germany’s national team for the 2026 World Cup.
Ter Stegen’s entourage is said to already be working on 'multiple scenarios', while Barcelona have made their intentions clear that the goalkeeper can leave on a free transfer if he gives up the salary he is still owed.
It is claimed that Ter Stegen's departure is viewed by Barca as a ‘strategic opportunity’ and this solution would please all parties, putting the Catalan giants in a stronger financial position ahead of the summer.
Meanwhile, journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that interest in Ter Stegen is growing, with several clubs keeping tabs on his situation ahead of the January window.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen on August 12, 2024
Nagelsmann "confident" clubs will move for Ter Stegen in January
Speculation over Ter Stegen’s future has intensified since Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann expressed his confidence over the goalkeeper sealing a move to a new club.
Speaking to reporters in November, Nagelsmann said: “We have to see how healthy he is, how fit he is. He’s back in training now. We also have to look at it from a club’s point of view. It’s clear that there must be some club that, obviously, isn’t very happy with their goalkeeper in the winter transfer window.
“Otherwise, you don’t usually sign a top-quality goalkeeper, and the situation isn’t easy, but I’m confident that some club will make a move, because Marc is a very good goalkeeper, and now he’s healthy again. We’ll see; I can’t influence that.
“We’re all happy he’s healthy, and we hope he becomes the starting goalkeeper for a club, and then we’ll proceed with the plan as we had envisioned. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll have to continue reflecting on the much-discussed goalkeeper situation.”
"He's our No.1 if he's fit and if he's No.1 at his club,” Nagelsmann added. "If he returns to being his club's first-choice goalkeeper, he can certainly be our first-choice goalkeeper, because he deserves it, but the necessary conditions must be met, just like any other player."
It has previously been reported that Turkish giants Besiktas have made an offer to sign Ter Stegen, who has also been linked with Galatasaray, Chelsea and Manchester United.