Much has been made of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s situation at Barcelona over the last few weeks, with the club captain having been replaced as starting goalkeeper for the 2025-26 season. Joan Garcia and Wojciech Szczesny are Hansi Flick’s options going forward, which means that the German is in a tricky situation.
Flick told Ter Stegen last week that he will almost certainly not play for Barcelona next season, but despite this, the 33-year-old is determined to stay and force his way into contention. The club want him to leave, but he is under no obligation to seek an exit, given that his contract runs until 2028.
Ter Stegen has options to leave, and according to German football legend Lothar Matthaus, he should take one of them, as he told Bild (via MD).
“He has to leave, he won’t play there again. I understand Ter Stegen. He has played well, he has been captain and he has his life in Barcelona. But he has to accept it. Barcelona have other ideas, other plans.
“These are decisions that must be accepted. There is no need to complain, it is part of football. It is not an isolated incident. It’s not Hansi Flick, it’s Barcelona. And nothing is bigger than the club, and that also applies to Barcelona.”
It must remembered that a World Cup year has now started, with the next tournament taking place in North America next summer. As things stand, Ter Stegen will be Germany’s starter, but that could change if he sidelined for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
Barcelona are hoping that Ter Stegen relents once the gravity of that situation kicks in, but for now, he is still looking to remain at the club he joined over a decade ago. However, that stance could change in the coming weeks.