The future of Barcelona captain and long-time starting goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is very much up in the air.
Joan García's arrival to Barcelona threatens Ter Stegen's spot atop the goalkeeper depth chart. With reports of Wojciech Szczęsny almost certainly extending his stint with the club, there's even more question marks regarding Ter Stegen's standing.
In a recent interview with La Vanguardia, Barcelona sporting director Deco opened up about the club's current goalkeeper situation, offering his thoughts on Ter Stegen's case.
“I don't have to talk to him [ter Stegen],” Deco said. “My obligation is to build the strongest team for the manager. Furthermore, there's no contract that guarantees you're going to play. The manager is who decides these things and every player has their own ambitions.
“I have a lot of respect for Marc [ter Stegen], but with Joan [García] we had to take a decision for the present and future. He might play tomorrow or he might be on the bench or play in one or two years. The manager will have to decide,” Deco added.
The former player turned sporting director made sure to make it clear neither him nor anybody else in the club will force Ter Stegen to look for a transfer elsewhere and that currently, he hasn't received any indication of the player's desire to leave.
“When a player want to leave it's very hard for you to stop him, but this isn't the case right now,” Deco said.
The 33-year-old goalkeeper spoke about his future with Barcelona during the recent UEFA Nations League action, confessing he expects to be with the Catalans next season.
However, this promises to be a fluid situation. If Hansi Flick opts to pick García as Barça's starter in goal come 2025–26, then Ter Stegen could be faced with the decision of settling for a bench role or looking for a move elsewhere in search of playing time in a crucial season before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Nothing to Talk About’—Barcelona Sporting Director's Message to Ter Stegen.
