Barça register new goalkeeper - is that it for ter Stegen?

FC Barcelona have registered Joan Garcia as their new goalkeeper and replacement for Marc-André ter Stegen just a few hours before the first league game of the new season. The 24-year-old will therefore be available for the first match this evening against Real Mallorca (7.30pm on blue Sport), as the club announced on X. This was made possible after the Spanish Football League's medical committee officially classified team captain ter Stegen's back surgery as a long-term injury on Thursday.

This means that the heavily indebted FC Barcelona can now officially call up Garcia, who was signed as the new number one in June, for league matches. Striker Marcus Rashford, who is on loan from Manchester United, has also been registered.

Hiccup over ter Stegen

This formal act was preceded by a fierce and sometimes public dispute between Barça and its long-serving German regular keeper. Before his back operation, Ter Stegen had initially written that he would probably only be out for three months. But that would not have been a long-term absence. Only in such a case, however, could Barça use 80 percent of the salary of an absent player to register new players, according to the statutes.

After the operation, ter Stegen apparently initially refused to give his club permission to forward his injury report to the league. As a result, FC Barcelona initiated disciplinary proceedings against him and stripped him of his captaincy.

Last week, ter Stegen then agreed to his medical data being passed on. Since then, the 33-year-old has captained the Spanish champions again despite being out of action for several months.

Flick speaks out in favor of ter Stegen remaining at FC Barcelona

In the face of rumors that FC Barcelona wanted to get rid of ter Stegen, who is on a high salary, Barça coach Hansi Flick verbally stood up to the 33-year-old on Friday. "The most important thing is that we talk about it together and that he can play at his high level again. He has to recover and come back, that's the most important thing," said Flick at the press conference ahead of the league opener.

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