Marc-André ter Stegen has become a problem for Barcelona.
The signing of Juan García and the extension of Wojciech Szczęsny’s contract appear to have sent a clear signal to the German goalkeeper, but the explicit commitments conveyed to him by the club in recent days have only made matters worse.
Head coach Flick informed Ter Stegen last Thursday that he would not be the starter, but Ter Stegen gave a clear response:
He wants to stay and will fight to become the team’s first-choice goalkeeper. This has resulted in an extremely tense standoff between the club and the player.
The German goalkeeper is furious and has no intention of leaving Barcelona, even though the club has made it clear internally that he will not feature in matches.
However, his agent has been looking for suitable clubs as a precaution, in case he changes his mind—aware that the World Cup will take place next summer, and he needs playing time to remain Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper.
The club believes he will eventually leave due to the World Cup, though they also acknowledge that, given the substantial salary he would forfeit, he must receive compensation.
This is also one of the club’s main objectives: to directly cut Ter Stegen’s salary in order to reduce their wage bill deficit.
