Barça fans remain incredulous about their team’s current situation and still cannot understand how Marc-André Ter Stegen and Barcelona have reached this point of no return. The tension between the two sides is palpable, and every day something new emerges that continues to demonstrate that the relationship between all those involved is completely broken and that it seems highly unlikely that it can be repaired. Now, the latest news is that the Blaugrana club has decided to strip the German goalkeeper of the captaincy, as he is not doing anything to defuse the situation.
Ter Stegen’s captaincy
Sources in Catalonia claim that Barcelona has already asked Hansi Flick to internally strip Marc-André Ter Stegen of the captaincy, although with the preseason tour in Asia, with the team in Japan and South Korea and the German in Barcelona, Joan Laporta’s decision would have little significance or impact. In fact, from the other continent, several of his teammates decided to throw the German goalkeeper a lifeline, as they are aware that he is not going through a good time at the club where he has been playing for more than a decade.
This Thursday, all parties met again at the Joan Gamper Sports City, and it is time for meetings to discuss everything that is happening around the figure of Marc-André Ter Stegen. The anger of Joan Laporta, Deco, and company is enormous, but so is that of the German. A few days ago, it was revealed that disciplinary proceedings had been opened against him for refusing to give his consent to send his medical report to LaLiga’s Medical Commission to determine how long he will be out of action. Now, the next measure taken by the president of Barcelona has been to strip him of the captaincy.
An unstoppable war
To understand everything that is happening, we have to go back to the beginning of the summer when Barcelona began to hint that they wanted to sell Ter Stegen in order to sign Joan García. The Catalan club finally signed the Espanyol goalkeeper and the tension grew with the start of the preseason, when both goalkeepers returned early to train at the Ciudad Deportiva. The big problem for the German was that he was injured in the back and had to train in the gym, so he couldn’t compete for a place with the Catalan.
While a team was being sought for Ter Stegen, the goalkeeper himself surprised everyone by announcing that he was going to have back surgery and would be out for three months. This was not enough, as Barcelona needed four or more to be able to use part of his salary to register the newly arrived players. That is where this soap opera has exploded, as it is a LaLiga Medical Commission that decides how long the still-Barça goalkeeper will be out of action.
The Azulgranas already have Marc-André Ter Stegen’s operation report and want to send it to the Medical Commission, but the German has refused to give his consent due to data protection. Obviously, this decision by the former Borussia Mönchengladbach player is quite damaging to Barcelona because it does not allow them to maneuver with an injured player, as they did last year with Andreas Christensen, and to register new arrivals. Everything points to the German not giving in, as he considers that he has been treated unfairly in recent months.