According to consistent media reports, Hansi Flick has informed Marc-André ter Stegen that he will only be number 3 at FC Barcelona in the new season. However, a transfer is not certain.
When coach Hansi Flick asked him to come in for a chat, Marc-André ter Stegen probably already had an idea of what was coming. The FC Barcelona captain has lost his status as first-choice goalkeeper after almost ten years. According to reports in Sport and Mundo Deportivo, Flick has now made this official, ending weeks of uncertainty that even involved national coach Julian Nagelsmann.
According to these reports, Flick told the 33-year-old international that he would be relying on new signing Joan Garcia from now on and that he also considered veteran Wojciech Szczesny, who recently extended his contract until 2027, to be ahead of him in the pecking order. Ter Stegen would therefore start the new season as number 3. However, it remains to be seen whether this will actually happen.
Even before Espanyol keeper Garcia was signed for a release clause of €26.3 million, there had been rumors that Barca wanted to get rid of ter Stegen. Flick is said to have denied this in talks with him—Barca would also accept if he stayed and honor his contract, which runs until 2028. But in reality, the club has shown him the door.
Barca would probably accommodate ter Stegen financially
After all, on the one hand, Barca, which is still struggling, can hardly afford to pay such a high salary for a second- or even third-string player; and on the other hand, ter Stegen cannot go into the season before the 2026 World Cup without playing time, having just missed many months due to knee surgery and secured a regular place in the German national team after years of waiting.
Nevertheless, ter Stegen seems to be sticking to his statements from early June for the time being, according to which he wants to face the competition: “I know that I will still be in Barcelona next year,” he said at a DFB press conference. According to Sport, only the goalkeeper himself will decide whether he looks for a new club or not. However, Ter Stegen has been assured that the club will meet him halfway financially if necessary.
