Marc-André ter Stegen and Barcelona are at odds. © AFP / LLUIS GENE

Next escalation stage: Ter Stegen no longer captain

The reunion probably wasn't all that warm when Marc-André ter Stegen visited the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training ground in Barcelona for more than an hour.

August 07, 2025

From: dpa/det

Communication with the currently injured German national football goalkeeper has long been handled through lawyers, and on Thursday the Catalan summer dispute finally reached the next level of escalation. Ter Stegen was removed as Barça captain, the club announced.

Just on Tuesday, the Spanish champions initiated disciplinary proceedings against the former Gladbach goalkeeper. The reason for this is ter Stegen's refusal to consent to the club submitting the medical report following his surgery to the league. The goalkeeper has thus placed the financially struggling club in a difficult position. Registering new players is now extremely difficult just before the start of the new season.

No future despite contract until 2028

Given the controversy, it's hard to imagine ter Stegen ever wearing the Barça jersey again. His well-paid contract runs until 2028, but the former Gladbach player once seemed like the perfect goalkeeper for the Catalans. After his arrival eleven years ago, he was praised for his footballing abilities, even by stars like Lionel Messi. And success followed immediately: in 2015, ter Stegen already held the Champions League trophy in his hands.

There's a farce surrounding ter Stegen. © APA/afp / LLUIS GENE

However, due to his susceptibility to injury, ter Stegen has long since lost his status; the goalkeeper missed a large portion of last season's games. Accordingly, the club is planning on signing new signing Joan García from Espanyol Barcelona and veteran Wojciech Szczesny. A summer departure seemed a foregone conclusion, especially since several well-known clubs had signaled interest. However, due to the renewed back surgery, all of this is no longer valid.

Dispute over length of downtime

But that's not all: With a social media post, ter Stegen snubbed his club when he himself had stated that his absence would last no more than three months. The club assumes an absence of four months or more. In this case, according to Spain's Financial Fair Play rules, Barça could use 80 percent of the absent player's salary to register a new player. Ironically, that player is García, and Szczesny is also not yet eligible to play.

Ter Stegen has played for Barcelona since 2014. © APA/epa / TONI ALBIR

Last season, Barcelona already had considerable problems registering former Leipzig player Dani Olmo. Now, the situation is looming again. And time is running out: Barça kicks off the season at RCD Mallorca on August 16th.

Araujo takes over captaincy

Ter Stegen is said to still have strong support within the team. The club has now preempted a potential vote by naming Ronald Araujo as ter Stegen's successor. According to the news portal 3Cat and the newspaper "Sport," Barça instructed German coach Hansi Flick to communicate this "drastic decision" to the goalkeeper.

For ter Stegen, the 2026 World Cup is also at stake. © APA/afp / THOMAS KIENZLE

Club sources confirmed to the trade newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" that the captain's armband issue had to be resolved at short notice, as the traditional annual friendly match for the Joan Gamper Trophy takes place on August 10. Among other things, the team captain will address the fans during this match to mobilize them for the new season. The club believes that a player facing disciplinary proceedings should not be giving this speech, the newspaper wrote.

There's no end in sight to the ter Stegen farce. The goalkeeper also has a lot at stake. National coach Julian Nagelsmann has earmarked him as the number one for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, after having to line up behind Manuel Neuer for many years. So, a possible transfer is likely to become a topic of discussion again this winter—perhaps the best solution for both sides.