Barcelona presented the signing of Joan Garcia on Friday, who arrives off the back of a magical season at rivals Espanyol. The 24-year-old was bought for €25m, his release clause, and many expect him to become the new number one next season.
That is supposedly the promise that Barcelona have made Garcia to convince him to sign for the club. One that will not go down well with current captain and until now, number one of the last decade, Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The German goalkeeper is now up for sale as far as Barcelona are concerned, despite having made it clear that he has no intention to move on, and wants to compete for his spot.
Ter Stegen is not happy with how Barcelona have handled the matter, with nobody speaking to the 33-year-old before Garcia’s signing. The word from the club was that they felt no need to give him an explanation, and would not have consulted their forwards before signing a new one.
The reality is that even if Barcelona say they will not force ter Stegen out, they could do with moving his salary from their wage bill. Sport say that Barcelona are counting on manager Hansi Flick to hold a frank conversation with ter Stegen about his role going forward if he decides to stay.
Meanwhile Wojciech Szczesny had supposedly decided to accept Barcelona’s two-year renewal offer, but so far has not done so. He is expected to be Garcia’s back-up next season if ter Stegen moves on, while Inaki Pena is set to depart the club.
Further down the pecking order, Ander Astralaga has just a year left on his deal, but is expected to extend his contract and seek out a loan deal for more minutes. Aron Yaakobishvili will move into his shoes, and become the starter for Barca Atletic.
