Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen could yet leave the club before the end of the January transfer window, despite being sent home from Saudi Arabia with injury. The 33-year-old goalkeeper suffered knee pain in training before their 5-0 win over Athletic Club, and returned to Catalonia as a precaution.
After further examinations though, it appears he has escaped injury though. On Wednesday Director of Football Deco confirmed that ter Stegen was ‘fine’, and that the injury was nothing serious, but did not give away any more on his future, amid talk that he could leave on loan for Girona. Sport say that is indeed the case, and on Thursday, the 33-year-old trained at the Ciutat Esportiva training ground on Thursday.
Girona manager Michel Sanchez has declared an interest in signing ter Stegen, and the Catalan side are keen to have him on loan until the end of the season. It was revealed this week that while ter Stegen was reluctant to leave Barcelona initially, a move to Girona would be considered as it would allow him to get game time ahead of the World Cup, and remain close to his children. MD report that an injury could have threatened a deal, but talks have continued after ter Stegen’s status was cleared up.
FC Barcelona are now chaining five consecutive clean sheets, four with Joan García and one with Marc-André ter Stegen.🧤
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 8, 2026
The deal may not be completed swiftly though, with Girona reluctant to cover much of his large salary. Barcelona believe they could be able to pay more than they have offered thus far, and are holding out for a better offer.
The Blaugrana are set to bring in Joao Cancelo on loan themselves, but will use the salary limit space from Andreas Christensen’s long-term injury exception to cover that. They have no plans for further additions, allowing them to hold out for a better offer.
