Marc-André ter Stegen has been left out of the Barcelona squad to face Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday after agreeing a loan move to Girona, manager Hansi Flick has confirmed.
The summer arrival of Joan García from Espanyol made it clear that Barcelona were prepared to move on from Ter Stegen, who has suffered three serious injuries over the past three seasons to limit his appearances in goal.
Ter Stegen has been dealing with a back injury for the majority of this season, returning in December after a five-month layoff, while he previously ruptured the patellar tendon in his knee and missed three months of the 2023–24 campaign with a separate back complaint.
After returning to fitness, Flick handed Ter Stegen one Copa del Rey appearance but has remained committed to García, whose start in the latest cup victory over Racing sent a clear message that, barring an emergency, the German was not going to play again this season.
Girona sensed an opportunity to land Ter Stegen’s signature and have agreed a deal to sign the German on loan until the end of the season. As part of the deal, Barcelona have agreed to cover the vast majority of his hefty salary.
There is still work to be done to finalize the deal, but Ter Stegen has not travelled with the Catalan giants to face Slavia as he instead focuses on completing his temporary departure.
“He told us this morning that he’s going to Girona,” Flick confirmed in his pre-match news conference. “Marc is a fantastic goalkeeper. We wish him all the best. He needed to play so he could go to the World Cup this summer.”
Ter Stegen the ‘Role Model’ Leaves on Good Terms
The loan exit brings an end to a saga which turned ugly during the summer but was just about salvaged by everybody involved.
Ter Stegen was keen to stay and fight for his place even following the arrival of García, regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but his back injury left him unable to play for a number of months. The duration of his absence was crucial as La Liga rules meant Barcelona could remove his wages from their salary cap and use the space on other players if he would miss anything over four months.
The goalkeeper took to social media to claim he would only miss three months and then initially refused to grant Barcelona permission to check his medical tests. The club subsequently stripped Ter Stegen of the captaincy until he eventually gave in and a four-month absence was confirmed.
Ter Stegen’s injury was key to Barcelona registering García in the first place. The new signing has been sensational in Catalonia this season, but Ter Stegen remains a popular member of the squad and departs with the best wishes of left back Alejandro Balde.
“Marc is a huge role model for me,” he said. “I wish him the best of luck; I’m sure he’ll do very well in this new chapter. I’m happy for him.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘He Told Us’—Barcelona Confirm Marc-Andre ter Stegen Exit Decision.
