Barcelona set date to make key Marc-Andre Ter Stegen decision

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is facing a very uncertain future at Barcelona, although it does appear that he won’t leave this summer now that he will be undergoing surgery on a troubling back injury.

Ter Stegen announced himself that he will be undergoing surgery, and in the process, he stated that he will be out for three months. This has angered Barcelona officials, who are hoping that the Germany international is out for at least four, given that this would allow them to register Joan Garcia with La Liga.

Barcelona officials believe that Ter Stegen deliberately set three months as his return timeline so that the club cannot use 80% of his salary to register a replacement, and it has led to the two parties’ relationship deteriorating further.

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On the back of this, there are increased calls within Can Barca for Ter Stegen to be stripped of his position as club captain, and according to Sport, the decision on this will be made just before the start of the 2025-26 La Liga season.

Barcelona first team squad to make captaincy decision

Traditionally, the captaincy group for the upcoming season is decided via a vote by the first team squad, which takes place after the Joan Gamper Trophy. And the plan is for this to be the case ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. However, club officials within Barcelona are said to be pressuring Hansi Flick to interfere in this process, and thus make a decision before this date.

The situation between Barcelona and Ter Stegen will be one to watch as the summer goes on, although it is not expected that the 33-year-old will depart. He has signalled his intention to stay put, and given that he will be out for at least three months, there will be no clubs that want to take a punt on signing him.