Ter Stegen Addresses FC Barcelona Departure

FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has addressed a potential departure from the club while on international duty for Germany, defiantly stating “I know I’ll be at Barca next year” at a press conference on Sunday.

At the end of a week where Mundo Deportivo reported that Barca has agreed terms with Espanyol’s Joan Garcia, and also relayed that Hansi Flick is in line with a previous claim from RAC1 that detailed President Joan Laporta telling the board the German will have to move on if the Spaniard arrives, Ter Stegen was asked about his future.

“No one has told me about this, so I don’t know the situation,” Ter Stegen stated, about possibly being shown the exit door.

“I’m not worried. I know that I will be at Barcelona next year,” added the shotstopper, who has a contract until June 30, 2028.

“If I remember correctly, and if no news has happened in the last few hours, we only have two goalkeepers for next season, Inaki [Pena] and me,” Ter Stegen said, while ignoring Wojciech ‘Tek’ Szczesny, who has not yet renewed his one-year contract but is expected to.

“So, basically, we have competition for this position, and it’s between Inaki and me. Whoever comes in, always has to, no matter what, deal with this competition: any player, in any position, has to deal with that. The same thing happened in recent years, as we had great goalkeepers, who also came with big ambitions. And that’s how it should be.”

Ter Stegen accepted that at a club like Barca, “we always want to sign the best players”.

“This is our goal. Whether in the goalkeeper position or in any other position, for us there is no difference. For my part, it’s always the same: I always want to give my best, I always want to be on the pitch and I’ll do everything I can to achieve that in the future as well. I think while I was playing, I was always doing well the last few years,” the veteran further offered.

FC Barcelona has tough decisions to make between the sticks

FC Barcelona must decide what to do with Ter Stegen if it signs Garcia, while also considering the futures of ‘Tek’, Inaki Pena, and not disrupting American promise Diego Kochen’s progress.