According to the Daily Sports, German goalkeeper Ter Stegen has returned to Barcelona. He is very dissatisfied with his current situation at the club and is quite emotional. It is expected that his upcoming talks with club officials will not go smoothly and may even lead to some disputes.
In recent days, Ter Stegen’s future has become increasingly uncertain.After Germany lost to France, he flew back to Barcelona from Stuttgart on a private jet, hoping to communicate with the club as soon as possible and express his thoughts.
As a starting goalkeeper, Ter Stegen is very angry about the current situation. He does not want to leave Barcelona and does not understand why the club would suddenly make such an arrangement. He still has a contract with the club until 2028, so he intends to stick it out and not compromise easily.
He does not want to discuss the matter publicly, but he is deeply hurt inside. He believes this is a challenge to his professional status and a rejection of his hard work. He also feels that some information from the dressing room has been leaked, leading him to suspect that the club is intentionally putting pressure on him to force him to leave.
It is reported that he will soon meet with Barcelona’s sports director, Deco. Although Deco recently left Barcelona for a short period, he is expected to have an important conversation with Ter Stegen upon his return. Ter Stegen wants to know the club’s plans for him and then decide his next steps. However, his stance is clear: he is willing to continue fighting for his starting position as long as the coaching staff gives him the opportunity.
He is now in good shape and feels he is fully capable of competing for the starting goalkeeper position. Moreover, he has just signed a contract extension with the club until 2028 and thought he could play with peace of mind. If this situation had happened after the 2026 World Cup, he might have understood. But now, he finds the club’s actions unacceptable.
The current situation is quite complicated.Barcelona is well aware that if Ter Stegen insists on fulfilling his contract, especially given that he is one of the highest-paid players on the team, the upper hand is actually in his hands.
But Barcelona is not completely without leverage. They know that the European Championship is coming up this summer, which is an important opportunity for Ter Stegen. He hopes to participate in the tournament and compete for the starting goalkeeper position on the German national team. But at Barcelona, if he is not the starter, it will be difficult for him to get enough playing time to prove himself.
Therefore, Barcelona’s strategy is also clear: they will tell Ter Stegen that Joan Garcia is already an important investment for the club and will become the new starting goalkeeper. The club will maintain an open attitude and will not force him to leave. However, if he chooses to stay, he must accept the fact that he is no longer the first-choice goalkeeper.
In this scenario, Joaquin Garcia would be the starting goalkeeper, and Szczesny would remain with the team as the backup. This means Ter Stegen might not even get to play in the King’s Cup. He has two options: either continue to stand his ground or sit down and negotiate.
Barcelona will take a hard line in negotiations. They are willing to let Ter Stegen leave on a free transfer and even pay a year’s salary as compensation, as long as he agrees to waive the remaining two years of his contract.
They believe that, with time, both sides will be able to find a solution. But the problem now is that Ter Stegen refuses to engage in any form of dialogue. He believes that if the club really does not want to keep him, it should bear the full cost of his remaining contract.
He firmly believes that the reason he lost his starting position is more due to human factors than competitive issues. He has pointed the finger directly at Deco and head coach Flick.
Currently, the relationship between the two sides is tense. Ter Stegen cannot understand why the club is treating him this way after he suffered a long-term injury and returned early to help the team—he is the team captain and was once an indispensable member. He is very angry about this.
Additionally, he feels that someone is “smearing” him behind his back. For example, in late April, he explicitly stated that he was ready to return to competition and privately contacted Flick to express his intentions. His agent’s team also applied to the club to include him in the Champions League squad instead of Szczesny.
In his view, this was just normal professional behavior. But Barcelona seems to have seized on this as a reason to send him away without giving a reasonable explanation.
Ter Stegen doesn’t want to just find a place to “kill time.” Although there are rumors that Saudi Arabia or other leagues may offer him a high salary to join them, he is not interested. He also has no intention of rushing to find a new club.
He is well aware that competition in the goalkeeper market will be fierce this summer, and he does not want to join a team that does not meet his expectations just for the sake of leaving. Perhaps time will soften his stance, but for now, he just wants to return to Barcelona and participate in preseason training, regardless of who opposes it.
This is a tricky situation for Flick, his teammates, and especially Joan Garcia.Garcia may have been inadvertently drawn into a dispute that he should not have to bear.
Overall, the conflict between Ter Stegen and Barcelona has entered a critical stage. The player is unwilling to leave, but the club is actively pushing forward with its coaching change plans. Both sides need to find a balance to avoid further conflict. For fans, the turmoil surrounding the goalkeeper position has undoubtedly added more suspense to the new season.
