#TerStegenOut goes far beyond a social media campaign.
Barça is putting pressure on the German goalkeeper, who has been a regular since 2016, to reconsider his situation.
BarcelonaAfter two years in the shadow of Claudio Bravo, Marc-André ter Stegen He showed up at Barça's offices in Aristides Maillol's office with an offer from Manchester City under his arm. It was the summer of 2016, and the German surprised everyone with his determination to threaten a change of scenery just two seasons after his arrival. The reason for the ultimatum: he didn't want any more seasons alternating in goal with the Chilean, whom Luis Enrique Martínez, then Barça's manager, entrusted with every La Liga match. Forced to choose, the club opted for Ter Stegen, who at the time was 24 years old and one of the goalkeepers with the most promising future in Europe. Meanwhile, Bravo, nine years his senior, was the one who finally ended up at Pep Guardiola's first City team.
Nine years after this famous sequence in Barça's recent history, it's now Ter Stegen who feels threatened by the circumstances surrounding him. If in 2016 he had a promising career ahead of him, now, after a nearly blank season due to a serious knee injury, he sees how the club has moved to sign Joan Garcia, the La Liga's most popular goalkeeper, and to renew for another year the contract of Wojciech Szczęsny, the goalkeeper of the Blues' goal. The moves have surprised and upset him; because for the first time in almost a decade of absolute monopoly—not counting injuries—between the sticks, he feels like they're moving his chair.
The German, moreover, has not hidden his discomfort since reading Barça's willingness to invest in a starting goalkeeper this summer and the leaks about a possible sale that emerged after last week's board meeting. He is also aware of the massive campaign on social media calling for his departure through the hashtag #TerStegenOut. This is evident from his words from the German national team's training camp, where he will finally have the long-awaited starting position due to Manuel Neuer's resignation. "Nobody has told me anything and I don't know the situation. I know I'll be at Barça next season," said Ter Stegen, who at the same time expressed disdain when referring to his current teammates: "Now it's just Iñaki [Peña] and me." That is to say, he didn't notice the more than likely departure of the Alicante goalkeeper and directly forgot about Szczęsny, who played in the Champions League semi-finals and the decisive La Liga matches when he had sprinted to recover.
Barça's reasons for moving things around the goal
Precisely this substitution—after several public appearances declaring that she was ready to play—generated a storm in the decisive stretch of the campaign. "We've played the season with Marc, with a sour face," the Barça locker room concludes regarding Ter Stegen's lack of tolerance for being a substitute. Furthermore, some internally link the German's desire to play with Szczęsny's drop in performance, particularly in the Champions League semi-finals against Inter Milan. Although this attitude hasn't pleased the sporting committee at all, if the German is no longer untouchable, it's also a matter of performance, as the parameters of his performances—apart from his footwork, his main strength—no longer make him one of the five most decisive goalkeepers on the continent. Some save much more, including the veteran Szczęsny and the promising Joan Garcia, who is the best in La Liga in this regard.
Aware that Ter Stegen will hardly be able to withstand fierce competition—from Garcia or anyone other than Iñaki Peña—just a year and a half away from what could be his first (and last) World Cup, Barça has activated all the mechanisms to make a strong impact on the goalkeeper. The storm is perfect for provoking a move for the German, which would also leave a small pinch in the form of a transfer and free up a significant salary. He has a contract until 2028, a market to explore, and enough hunger to leave money in the coffers.