Barcelona have incredibly launched a disciplinary case against Marc-Andre ter Stegen despite the goalkeeper still being under contract at the club. The German international has been a Barca player for over a decade, having joined in 2014. In 2022, he was even named captain, but now his future at Camp Nou appears to be up in the air.
Ter Stegen was sidelined for the majority of the 2024/25 season due to a knee injury and is currently out with a back issue that is expected to keep him out for several more months, though there is debate between club and player about how long this will be.
He was replaced last term by Wojciech Szczesny, who came out of retirement, while Hansi Flick has since signed Joan Garcia this summer to become the new number one. However, after making it clear he had no intention of leaving, Ter Stegen may now find himself in legal trouble with his employer.
Barca Launch Disciplinary Action Against Ter Stegen
Los Cules have claimed that player caused harm to the club
According to Mundo Deportivo, the 33-year-old is facing disciplinary action after he failed to sign his medical report which could've saved Barcelona an incredible amount of money if it was sent out to La Liga's Medical Committee which is responsible for evaluating the severity of injuries.
If the injury is classified as long-term - specifically requiring a recovery period of five months or more - Barcelona would be permitted to allocate 80% of the player’s salary toward financial fair play calculations. This financial relief would then help the club move forward with registering goalkeeper Garcia, who has essentially been brought in to replace the sidelined German.
A similar situation occurred last summer when the club successfully registered Dani Olmo. This was made possible after the medical committee confirmed that Andreas Christensen was dealing with a long-term injury expected to keep him out for longer than four months, allowing the club to partially offset his salary under financial fair play rules.
Without Ter Stegen’s prior consent, Barcelona are entirely unable to submit the medical report. As medical records are considered private, the club must have the player's formal approval before sharing any health-related information with LaLiga or third parties. This hasn't been an issue the club has dealt with before though, as all players usually agree to sign off on the information.
In response, the club has opted to escalate the issue by involving its legal department, which will now begin the process of launching a formal disciplinary proceeding. If the club’s legal team deems it appropriate and the board gives its approval, the process could result in internal disciplinary action being taken against the player, citing the fact that he is deemed to have caused harm to the club by refusing to sign the papers.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 05/08/2025.