Barcelona ready to cover major portion of captain’s salary to facilitate January exit | OneFootball

With the January transfer window just around the corner, one of the major situations to follow at FC Barcelona will be that of captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Despite the club captain, having recovered from back issues, starting in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey Round of 32 clash against CD Guadalajara, his continuity for the second half of the season is far from guaranteed.

Barça’s local rivals, Girona, have emerged as suitors to sign the 33-year-old German on loan in January, with manager Michel acknowledging the interest earlier this week.

Barcelona’s stance on Ter Stegen

Now, according to SPORT, from Barcelona’s perspective, the operation to loan Ter Stegen to Girona makes sense both sportingly and financially.

Even though he was given a surprise start in the cup tie, the club captain’s situation has not fundamentally changed.

In the major competitions, including the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, where the Blaugrana veteran had hoped to feature, the starting goalkeeper will remain Joan Garcia.

What next for Ter Stegen? (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

From a financial standpoint, Barcelona would look favourably on the goalkeeper’s departure, even if the terms are not especially advantageous for the club.

In fact, the Catalan giants would be willing to assume a significant portion of the German’s salary over the next six months if it helps relieve Flick of the difficult situation surrounding the captain’s case.

If Girona are able to cover around a quarter of the salary Ter Stegen is due to earn for the remainder of the season, Barcelona would not stand in the way of finalising the agreement.

Ball in Ter Stegen’s court

The main obstacle at present remains the player’s own stance. Ter Stegen continues to be reluctant to leave and has informed the club that he is not considering destinations such as Turkey or England despite interest.

For family reasons, his priority remains Barcelona. However, if a departure does occur, Girona would be the only realistic option he would consider, because of the proximity and the possibility of maintaining his personal routine despite the change of club.