Marc-André ter Stegen continues to be absent from Barcelona's first week of pre-season training as he evaluates the possibility of having surgery to fix his recurring back issues.
If the German goalkeeper does end up going under the knife, reports indicate he could be sidelined for four to six months. Were this to happen, Barcelona could take advantage of a rule that would see FIFA pay a large sum of Ter Stegen's salary.
FIFA's Club Protection Program stipulates that teams can receive compensation if one of their players gets injured while representing their country on international duty. Ter Stegen featured for Germany in June's UEFA Nations League finals and reported his back pains soon after.
For clubs to benefit from the program, the player must be sidelined for more than 28 consecutive days. After that, according to Mundo Deportivo, FIFA could compensate Barcelona with €20,548 ($23,890) per day that Ter Stegen is out of action. If Ter Stegen is sidelined for over four months, then Barcelona could end up getting more than €2 million ($2.3 million) from FIFA to cover the goalkeeper's salary.
It wouldn't be the first time Barcelona get financial compensation from FIFA. Over the last two seasons, FIFA has given the Catalans money in the aftermath of Gavi tearing his ACL in Nov. 2023 and Ronald Araújo's groin injury suffered in Copa América.
If Ter Stegen opts to have surgery, Barcelona are ready to exploit a La Liga rule that would allow them to register new signing Joan García by offloading 80% of their captain's salary. However, they'd still have to pay Ter Stegen during his absence and that's where FIFA's money would come in to help the club's financial obligations.
What ends up happening with Ter Stegen's back injury will be decided in the near future, but Barcelona have already notified FIFA their intention to receive economic compensation if the goalkeeper is indeed sidelined for a considerable period of time.
Regardless of what the outcome is, it's evident Barcelona are exploring every possible alternative to finally comply with both La Liga and UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona ‘Could’ Benefit From FIFA Program Due to Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Injury.
