Injuries, relegation with Girona, a shattered World Cup dream: Marc-André ter Stegen’s season ended on a bitter note. The goalkeeper’s future is uncertain, and his parent club, FC Barcelona, appears to be planning without him.
It was a terrible end to a disastrous season for Marc-André ter Stegen. The 44-time German national team goalkeeper could only watch helplessly as his club, FC Girona, could not manage more than a 1-1 draw against FC Elche in the final game of the season, thus missing out on a possible chance to avoid relegation. For ter Stegen, it was the first relegation of his professional career.
The future is now uncertain not only for Girona—who finished a sensational third in La Liga in the 2023/24 season behind the heavyweights from Madrid and Barcelona—but especially for ter Stegen.
Just two games for Girona
The 34-year-old had been dropped by FC Barcelona before the start of the season and, after recovering from a back injury that had sidelined him for almost the entire first half of the season, was loaned to Girona in the winter. There, ter Stegen was supposed to help avoid relegation, while also aiming to earn a spot on the World Cup roster. After all, national team coach Julian Nagelsmann had kept the spot in the German goal open for him—provided he got enough playing time, at least.
But both goals were missed, partly because the goalkeeper was once again plagued by injuries. After just two games for Girona—during his debut in January against Getafe (1-1), he was showered with praise by the Spanish press for a spectacular save—ter Stegen suffered a muscle injury and had to undergo surgery once again. He has been sidelined ever since, and consequently, his dream of playing in the World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico was dashed. Instead, Manuel Neuer is returning to the German goal.
Barca would like to get rid of top earner ter Stegen
After his loan expires, ter Stegen will return to Barcelona for the time being this summer, where he remains under contract until 2028. But the 34-year-old has no future on Hansi Flick’s team. Not only is Joan Garcia now Barca’s number one—a status ter Stegen held for a long time after joining the Catalans in the summer of 2014—but the German keeper is also among Barcelona’s top earners, and the Catalans would likely like to remove him from the payroll. Over the past six months, Barca continued to pay portions of the salary of the keeper, who was on loan to Girona.
But finding a buyer is likely to be difficult. Ter Stegen’s high salary, as well as the injury problems of recent years—before the two injuries in the season just ended, the keeper spent half a year recovering from a torn patellar tendon—are likely to deter potential buyers. The 34-year-old also reportedly wants to stay in Barcelona for family reasons.
The Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo therefore recently described ter Stegen as a “hot potato” for Barca. The player himself has not yet commented on his future following Girona’s relegation. In Catalonia, however, it is not expected that this will be resolved anytime soon.