Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen is making all kinds of headlines in Spain this week and they don’t make for pleasant reading for the Germany international.
The goalkeeper’s future at the club has been plunged into doubt due to the fact that Barca are widely expected to sign Joan Garcia from Espanyol next week.
Reports have already emerged about Barcelona’s apparent unhappiness about Ter Stegen’s attitude at the end of last season, and Sunday has brought a fresh batch of claims.
Mundo Deportivo are reporting that Barca chiefs were also unhappy with Ter Stegen after he refused to address the club’s fans as part of planned title celebrations.
FC Barcelona V Villarreal CF - La Liga Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Apparently Barca wanted the players to speak to the fans after the game against Villarreal, but Ter Stegen refused which upset Joan Laporta and Hansi Flick.
MD are also reporting that Barca feel Flick must be the one to tell Ter Stegen his time at the club is up once Garcia has arrived from Espanyol.
The plan is to complete the deal for Garcia and then make it clear to Ter Stegen that the best thing is for a mutually-agreed exit. Good luck with that one, Hansi.
Over at Diario Sport, the word is that Ter Stegen is at “war” with Barcelona and has been left “absolutely outraged” by the club’s plans to force him out.
Germany v Portugal - UEFA Nations League 2025 Semi-final Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images
The German stopper is “convinced that his fall from grace is a personal issue rather than a sporting one” and doesn’t understand why he’s suddenly no longer wanted.
Sport also claim that Ter Stegen isn’t interested in a move away at all and is willing to dig his heels in - even though Barca want Garcia as No. 1 and Wojciech Szczesny as his back-up for next year.
All of which makes for an increasingly ugly situation for Barca and Ter Stegen and one that sadly looks set to dominate headlines for some time when a swift resolution would surely be the best for all concerned.