Barcelona moved into the Copa del Rey round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Guadalajara on Tuesday night. Late goals from Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford finally broke the third-tier side’s impressive resistance.
Key players such as Lamine Yamal, Eric Garcia and Frenkie de Jong had to play 90 minutes, while Hansi Flick was forced to bring on Pedri, Pau Cubarsi and Alejandro Balde in the second half.
But the most remarkable thing about the game was Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s return to the starting XI. The 33-year-old made his first Barca appearance since the final home game of last season back in May.
The prospect of seeing Ter Stegen wearing the Barca shirt again was very much in doubt after the club openly tried to offload him in the summer.
Sporting director Deco felt the team needed an upgrade in goal and identified Espanyol’s Joan Garcia, signed for around €25million (£22m; $29m) as a market opportunity they could not afford to miss.
Senior Barca executives hoped Ter Stegen would eventually agree to a departure. In their mind, the fact that he looked likely to have a big chance of becoming Germany’s starting goalkeeper for the 2026 World Cup would make him consider leaving to secure regular football.
Ter Stegen, however, had no intention of making way. Tensions came to a head when he refused to sign documents allowing Barcelona to take advantage of a La Liga salary limit rule related to his absence after surgery. Barca punished Ter Stegen by stripping him of the captaincy.
Eventually, the matter was settled and Ter Stegen did sign the documentation, which meant Barca were in a better financial position to register their summer signings, including Garcia, who started the season as No 1. The captaincy was returned to Ter Stegen.
Barca sources — who, like all those consulted for this article, asked not to be named as they did not have permission to comment — say the club’s plan is still to try and move Ter Stegen on. They also acknowledge he is entitled to fulfill his contract and refuse to leave, despite having a limited role in the team.
Ter Stegen’s latest deal, signed in 2023, runs until 2028. It includes salary deferrals he agreed to help Barca’s constrained finances. He is due a significant part of that over the next two seasons.
Ter Stegen and Joan Laporta (centre) at the Joan Gamper friendly of August 2024 (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The German has shown no indication of wanting to leave Barcelona, a club where his team-mates voted him as captain last summer and a city where he is perfectly settled. He has previously made it clear he wants to fight for his place in the team, even if he knows Garcia is currently Flick’s No 1.
There is also an awareness that you seldom find big clubs looking for a new starting goalkeeper in the January transfer window — especially not any who would match his Barca wages.
Ter Stegen has also been very clear he will stick to the contract agreed with Barca president Joan Laporta, which runs until 2028. While he has been unfortunate with injuries over the last 18 months, he is confident in his own ability.
Now, the goalkeeper is back fit again after his operation in July to fix a long-standing back problem. He returned to the matchday squad for last week’s Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt, and was also on the bench against Osasuna on Saturday.
But the intention Barca have with him remains the same: the board does not see him as part of their long-term project. And since Ter Stegen’s return from injury, Flick has been very open about his choices in goal.
“It is clear, Joan Garcia is the number one choice,” the manager said at a press conference on Friday.
“I don’t say who is the number two or number three choice. I don’t mind. We have our trust set on Joan and we don’t plan to change him anytime soon.
“I spoke privately with Marc about his situation, but what we discussed will remain between us. We’ve talked about his situation and I respect him. He’s a fantastic goalkeeper and a great person.”
Szczesny and Ter Stegen before last week’s Eintracht game (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
After last night’s win at Guadalajara, Flick said starting Ter Stegen was a one-off decision, and he did not want to expand further on whether he was above Wojciech Szczesny in his pecking order.
“For me, Marc is the captain of the team,” he said in his post-match press conference. “He is a player with a long career at the club, too. His start was a decision made for tonight only. We spoke with the coaches and decided to give him the opportunity to show he is back.”
Club sources told The Athletic that they offered Szczesny a new two-year deal in the summer as they saw in the 35-year-old a better profile to be a back-up to Garcia, as well as a great influence for the dressing room. The former Poland international has openly admitted he does not see himself anywhere close to competing for the No 1 spot.
“I am the back-up and, barring a big surprise, I’ll stay like that,” Szczesny said in a Canal+ interview earlier this season. “My role this season is to help prepare Garcia in the best possible way. I think he has incredible potential, already one of the best in Europe from a physical perspective. I am proud of having this role. I was ready for it since I signed my new contract last summer, so I am not disappointed at all.”
Szczesny has had to feature in nine games so far this term, as Garcia picked up a knee injury in October. This saw 19-year-old United States youth international Diego Kochen briefly promoted to the first-team bench. Dressing room sources say Szczesny was more than pleased by Garcia’s return, which has helped Barca re-discover their best version this season.
Against Guadalajara, Ter Stegen made two saves in a comfortable night for the defence. It was the perfect script for a solid return after a seven-month absence. But uncertainty still remains over his future.
Taking into account his stance and the club’s view, there’s a decent chance that no agreement is found over a new destination for Ter Stegen any time soon. As long as he stays, Barca will be paying high wages to a backup player, when their struggles with La Liga’s salary limit has already impacted their transfer plans.
Ter Stegen has 423 appearances for Barca, the second-most for a goalkeeper in club history behind Victor Valdes’s 540. He has won six La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey six times and the Champions League once. But knowing how this goes at Barca, there’s every chance we will see tensions grow — tensions like those we saw in the summer.