Barcelona higher-ups want to strip Ter Stegen of captaincy following recent controversy – Report | OneFootball

After a partnership of more than ten years, relations between FC Barcelona and one of their captain, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, are quite strained. The main point of strain on this relationship came with the arrival of the Spanish goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who is set to be the starting goalie for the Catalan team from the next season.

To make things worse, Wojciech Szczesny is reported to be the back-up goalkeeper for the Spaniard, pushing the experienced German player even lower in the pecking order. In such a scenario, Barcelona were looking to offload him this summer, but the club’s desire to do so is almost impossible to fulfill now.

Ter Stegen angers Barcelona with his surgery announcement

Photo Courtesy: The official website of FC Barcelona

This is mainly because Ter Stegen has decided to undergo surgery for his back problems, and the way he announced this decision has further damaged his relations with the Catalan club.

As already reported, his announcement on social media came as a surprise for the Blaugrana club, as they had planned with the goalkeeper to publish a statement together, but Ter Stegen was too quick to announce his decision.

Furthermore, the goalie also mentioned in his statement that he might recover from this issue in three months, another matter that irritates the club, as an absence of around four months could have allowed them to register another player with his salary space.

Barcelona looking to take the armband away

Photo Courtesy: The official website of FC Barcelona

In such a context, Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona are considering taking away the German’s captaincy, and both the sporting and coaching departments are in agreement on this matter.

The club believes that a team needs a captain who can serve as a good intermediary between the players and the club hierarchy, as well as the coach. However, as things stand, Ter Stegen’s relationship with the coaching and sporting departments is quite strained, and thus, he would not be the perfect candidate to be a captain.

Furthermore, this upcoming surgery is also going to keep him out of action for several months, and this is another factor why Barcelona believe another player should take his place as a captain.

Hansi Flick will now have to make a decision in this regard, and he enjoys the support of Deco and other top officials.

He already has the likes of Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, and Raphinha as captains, and can select another one from Inigo Martinez, Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres, or Lamine Yamal himself, or allow the team to pick another captain.