Barcelona’s Turbulent Summer: Ter Stegen at the Center of Captaincy Row
The 2025 summer transfer window brought no shortage of controversy for FC Barcelona — not only in their pursuit of new arrivals but also within their own dressing room.
The most dramatic episode involved long-serving goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who unexpectedly found himself stripped of the captain’s armband. The move came after he initially refused the club’s request to be temporarily de-registered from the squad list.
With Barcelona racing against time to register new signing Joan Garcia ahead of their La Liga opener against Mallorca, financial restrictions forced the club into difficult decisions. Since Ter Stegen was sidelined after back surgery, the board proposed his temporary de-registration to make space.
At first, the German goalkeeper resisted, blocking the process and sparking a standoff with the club hierarchy. He eventually relented, but the dispute left tension on both sides, fueling reports of “bad blood” between player and management.
Head coach Hansi Flick later admitted to SportBild (via Sport) that the entire saga could have been handled better.
“Was everything communicated in the best way? Certainly not,” Flick conceded. “There is room for improvement, even from my side. What matters now is that Marc and the club have made the effort to re-establish proper communication. His return is important to us — he’s still a world-class goalkeeper, and we’ll give him all the support he needs to perform at his highest level again.”
Adding to the friction was Barcelona’s earlier decision to make Joan Garcia — a summer signing from Espanyol — their new first-choice keeper. For the first time in nearly a decade, Ter Stegen’s status as the club’s undisputed No.1 was challenged.
Explaining the decision, Flick defended the choice to prioritize Garcia:
“With Joan Garcia, we have a very young but extremely talented goalkeeper. He’s already playing at a high level, and for us, the plan was clear: he represents the future of Barcelona.”
While the situation has reportedly been resolved, the saga highlighted the fragile balance between Barcelona’s financial struggles, their new sporting project, and the legacy of one of the club’s most important figures of the past decade.
