The relationship between Marc-André Ter Stegen and FC Barcelona has reached a necessary truce after reaching a point of no return. It seemed impossible that, after all the chapters in this standoff between both parties, there would be an option to smooth things over, but that is what has happened. The situation was already untenable with disciplinary proceedings underway, the captaincy withdrawn, and a goalkeeper who is hurt by the treatment he has received and stands firm in his decisions. This situation did not arise overnight; it has been simmering for months.
The beginning: a contract renewal, a drop in performance, and an injury that changed everything
Looking back, the conflict between Ter Stegen and the club began to brew some time ago. In the summer of 2023, the player agreed to sign a contract renewal that tied him to the club until 2028 to help the club with fair play issues and allow them to register players by deferring part of his salary. After this renewal, his season was not the best as, just like this time, he underwent surgery to solve his back problems and was out for several months.
After his absence, the player’s performance took a downturn, which was also reflected last season with Hansi Flick on the bench. The German was not at his best and, to make matters worse, he suffered a serious injury. On September 22, he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee against Villarreal, which kept him out of action until the end of April.
Dethroned on his return… and losing money
To cover his absence, Barça signed Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish player had retired but accepted the offer at the urging of his friend Lewandowski.
Although Iñaki Peña started as the first-choice keeper, a disciplinary measure for arriving late meant that the Polish player took his place between the sticks and never looked back. Tek had a sublime season, becoming Hansi Flick’s number one. When Ter Stegen returned from injury, he hoped to regain his place, but when he saw that this was not going to happen, he did not hesitate to make statements in his country that he was ready to take his place in goal.
The goalkeeper was in a hurry because he wanted to be with his national team in the final phase of the Nations League and needed playing time to do so. Hansi Flick only gave him a few minutes in the Champions League semifinal against Real Valladolid, when he made massive rotations, and in a few other games when the league title was already in the bag.
This did not go down well with Ter Stegen, who from that moment on saw his relationship with the coach deteriorate. In addition, Hansi Flick put the final nail in the coffin by giving Iñaki Peña his last start of the season after a more than difficult year for the player. With this decision, Ter Stegen lost out on a bonus of around €3.5 million in his contract, which angered the player.
The signing of Joan García
It could have all ended there, with a disagreement, a difference of opinion, a different way of looking at the same situation, but no, Barcelona did not miss the opportunity to sign one of the best goalkeepers on the national scene and signed Espanyol goalkeeper Joan García for just over $25 million. This decision, coupled with the commitment to renew Szczesny’s contract, made it clear that Iñaki Peña and Ter Stegen were surplus to requirements.
At the time when speculation about this decision was rife, Ter Stegen was focused on his national team and from there he laid the foundations for what would be his attitude from that moment on. The goalkeeper made it clear that he had a valid contract and that he intended to fulfill it. He was not going to leave Barcelona and pointed out that the club had not communicated anything to him in this regard.
The conversation took place a couple of days before the return to work, when Hansi Flick and Ter Stegen met at the Ciudad Deportiva and the coach made it clear that he would not be playing this season. However, the goalkeeper’s attitude did not change one bit, but a few days later everything took an unexpected turn, further straining the relationship between the two parties.
A new operation and… the conflict explodes
From the first minute of his return to work, Ter Stegen was not with the group and it was he himself who announced a few days later his decision to undergo surgery for a back problem, stating, in a completely unilateral manner, that he would be out for three months. The length of his absence is key, as after four months the club can release part of the injured player’s salary, which in Barcelona’s case is crucial in order to register Joan García.
The tension reached its peak this week when the club wanted to send LaLiga the player’s medical report stating that they consider him to be out for more than four months, but they need the player’s signature giving his consent, and Ter Stegen has refused to do so. The German’s attitude has angered Laporta to such an extent that he has opened disciplinary proceedings against the goalkeeper and temporarily stripped him of the captaincy.
A necessary truce
With tensions at their peak, Ter Stegen relented on Friday night, as reported by the club: “FC Barcelona announces that player Marc-André ter Stegen has signed the authorization for the Club’s Medical Services to submit the mandatory medical report to LaLiga following his surgery.
The disciplinary proceedings are closed and the player regains the captaincy of the first team with immediate effect.” A step back for both sides that will allow Barcelona to register Joan García at the start of the week, with the German goalkeeper’s registration now free. A crucial step to smooth things over, but one that does not solve the problem between the two sides.