Marc-André ter Stegen is returning to Barcelona before the start of the Spanish Supercopa in Saudi Arabia. According to the club, the goalkeeper must undergo medical tests.
For Marc-André ter Stegen, the 2025/26 season has been one to forget so far: First, he lost his status as Barcelona’s number one to new signing Joan Garcia, then back surgery sidelined him for several months. The 33-year-old only returned at the end of last calendar year and celebrated his comeback in the cup against third-division Guadalajara (2-0). It could remain his only appearance for the Catalans this season. That’s because he is still not in the plans as the starting goalkeeper.
However, as ter Stegen wants to travel to the World Cup in the USA as the German national team’s number one, he needs to gain playing experience and is therefore considering a transfer. Among others, Girona recently showed interest in signing the goalkeeper. Regardless of the speculation, ter Stegen traveled with his teammates to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Supercopa.
Kochen nominated after the fact
But before a single match in this competition had even taken place in Jeddah, the keeper was already on his way home. As the Blaugrana announced late Tuesday evening, ter Stegen had to leave to undergo medical tests in Barcelona. He had previously ended training 25 minutes early, as reported by the newspaper Sport.
The Spanish league leaders did not specify the exact reason for this decision. However, if ter Stegen has suffered another serious injury, it is unlikely that any clubs will be interested in signing him during this transfer window. Barcelona responded to his departure by nominating Diego Kochen. The 19-year-old is the goalkeeper for the reserve team.
