Barcelona hit with massive blow as main bargaining chip with Marc-Andre ter Stegen loses weight | OneFootball

Barcelona are desperate to move on captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen this summer, with the veteran goalkeeper set to be replaced by new signing Joan Garcia. However the German veteran has made it clear that he has no intention to leave the club, and he appears to be unfazed by their main argument to force an exit.

Ter Stegen, 33, was expecting to return as number one next season, following a year spent mostly recovering from injury. Yet when Barcelona activated the €25m release clause for Garcia, they did so with the intention of making him their new number one. Since, ter Stegen has made it clear he has no plans to leave the club, and will fight for his place as number one.

Barcelona bargaining chip with ter Stegen loses weight

The Blaugrana intend to have manager Hansi Flick speak with ter Stegen, and convince him to leave once he explains that Garcia will be the new number one. One of the main arguments Barcelona were hoping would convince him to do so is the fact that the 2026 World Cup is just around the corner.

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With Manuel Neuer retired, ter Stegen has the chance to represent Germany as number one at a World Cup for the first time, and losing his spot would hurt those chances. However Sport say that ter Stegen has absolutely no intention of leaving before January, and if he is on the bench at that point, he would leave for more minutes and to retain his spot for his national team. His belief is that in the meantime, he will impose himself as number one.

Key role for Hansi Flick

Flick, who maintained Neuer ahead of ter Stegen while in charge of Germany, and decided to keep faith in Wojciech Szczesny at the end of last season, will play a key role in the discussion. Ter Stegen has three years left on his deal, and one option Barcelona have would be to guarantee he will not play all season, but this could make negotiations for an exit even trickier, with plenty of money at stake.