Lothar Matthaus identifies one top club Barcelona captain can join to achieve his World Cup 2026 dreams | OneFootball

The goalkeeping position at FC Barcelona is set to undergo a generational change as they signed a new goalkeeper, Joan Garcia, who is set to be the starter in goal for Hansi Flick from the next season.

The Polish veteran Wojciech Szczesny is expected to be his backup, and this situation leaves the other two goalkeepers on the Blaugrana club’s payroll, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Inaki Pena, with a highly uncertain future.

This situation is particularly worrisome for ter Stegen, as he is aiming to be a starter for Germany for the next World Cup.

For now, the German is enjoying his holidays and is clear that he wants to remain and fight for his position at Barcelona, but ultimately, a move away from the club might be the best way forward for all the involved parties.

Lothar Matthaus discusses the situation of ter Stegen

Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images

There seems to be concern in his native country about his situation at Barcelona. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, this concern was shown by the 1990 Ballon d’Or winner Lothar Matthaus as he appeared in a recent interview.

The former German midfielder was clear that ter Stegen is still a top-class goalkeeper:

“He has returned in good form after a long injury and has shown — especially in the Nations League against France — that he is still a world-class goalkeeper at 33 years of age.”

Meanwhile, Matthaus also praised Joan Garcia and understood why Barcelona signed him:

“He is nine years younger, is already part of the Spanish national team, and is expected to play in it in the future… and a club has every right to say that for the future, they are betting on a younger goalkeeper who might also cost less in salary.”

The former Bayern Munich player went on to show his concern about the German goalie:

“I don’t know how Barça will act or whether Hansi Flick will receive instructions to play the new goalkeeper… [It would be] a dangerous situation for Ter Stegen, as Julian Nagelsmann won’t be able to support his decision to call him up if he’s only on the bench at Barcelona.”

Manchester City is the ideal destination

Matthaus went on to recommend a possible destination for ter Stegen:

“Galatasaray has shown its ambitions with the signing of Sané and will play in the Champions League next season.”

“There are also six clubs in England that will play in it next season, and not all of them have such a strong goalkeeper to say: ‘Ter Stegen wouldn’t be a reinforcement for us.’ I don’t know what Manchester City is planning, but I don’t think they’re very happy with Ederson. I believe Ter Stegen could definitely be a goalkeeper for the Citizens for the next three or four years.”

There is no doubt that Manchester City would be a very good option for ter Stegen, as he would be able to compete in the biggest of competitions. But for now, it remains to be seen how his situation develops and where he will play next season.