Hansi Flick tells benched Barcelona star to decide his own future | OneFootball

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen could make his first appearance of the season on Tuesday night, after Hansi Flick confirmed that number one goalkeeper Joan Garcia would not be playing. The Blaugrana face Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey away from home.

Ter Stegen has been out of action until last week after undergoing surgery on his back earlier this year. Flick explained that Joan Garcia would remain his first choice despite the return of the Barcelona captain.

‘It’s his decision’ – Flick on ter Stegen future

There has been plenty of speculation over ter Stegen’s future, given Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has made it clear that he must play in order to be their number one at the World Cup. A loan move for ter Stegen has thus been mooted.

“This is his decision. “We spoke about his situation and I respect Marc a lot because he’s a fantastic goalkeeper. He’s a really good player for us, also a good human for the team, but at the end it’s his decision and he has to decide, so it’s about that,” he told ESPN.

Joan Garcia to be rested

Image via Cordon Press

Although Wojciech Szczesny was ill on Saturday during their win over Osasuna due to a stomach bug, he returned to training on Monday. It is not clear whether ter Stegen or Szczesny will replace him.

Joan will rest. But today is not the day to make the decisions [on who will play]. I want to wait until tomorrow.

“Of course, Marc is a fantastic goalkeeper. In the goal, we have three excellent players. I am really happy about this. We will see what happens. But it’s clear what I said before: Joan is No.1. From there, we will see what happens. Tek [Szczęsny] played last season a fantastic season, we won with him three titles. Also, this season, when Joan was injured, he gave us stability. For me, Tek is not only on the pitch, but also in the dressing room, a really important player for us.”