The Germany international needs game time ahead of the World Cup but an injury complicates a winter exit
A potential exit from Barcelona this January for Marc-Andre ter Stegen has hit further roadblocks after the goalkeeper got injured at the club’s camp in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Ter Stegen had travelled alongside first-choice Joan Garcia and backup Wojciech Szczesny ahead of Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup clash against Athletic Club, but the German was forced to return to Spain after sustaining the injury.
It is unclear whether it is related to the knee injury he struggled with last season and went to surgery for only a few months ago.
Ter Stegen has battled with fitness issues over the past year, which saw him lose his place as Hansi Flick’s choice. First, veteran Szczesny filled in superbly last season before the impressive Garcia was signed from Espanyol last summer.
Flick has made it clear Garcia is the first choice and Ter Stegen has been urged to leave for more game time ahead of the World Cup in the summer. The Germany international has played just one game this season, against Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey last month.
Talk of a move is already complicated by the player’s huge wages and his unwillingness to take a pay cut, but having now sustained an injury, a move this January looks unlikely. Barcelona, for their part, are desperate to offload the player and take his hefty wages from their books.
The German national team’s sporting director, Rudi Voller, has already warned Ter Stegen he needs playing time if he is to make Germany’s 2026 world cup squad.
“It doesn’t matter if he stays at Barcelona or somewhere else, in the end he has to play,” said Voller.
“[The No 1 shirt] might still be a bit open, because a lot depends on Marc-Andre. How is he doing? What’s he up to? Oliver Baumann [Hoffenheim goalkeeper and No 1 contender] is doing a fantastic job so far.”
