Pep Guardiola told to sign out-of-favour Barcelona captain for Manchester City | OneFootball

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is staring at an uncertain future at Barcelona, despite his insistence that he is under contract and has no plans to leave.

Barcelona’s commitment to new signing Joan Garcia, alongside the expected contract renewal of Wojciech Szczesny, places the 33-year-old German international in a difficult position.

Flick is leaning toward giving the No. 1 shirt at Barcelona to Garcia with Szczesny as his backup, leaving Ter Stegen out of favour.

Lothar Matthaus advises Man City to sign Ter Stegen

Amidst this unfolding situation, German legend Lothar Matthaus has advised Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to sign Ter Stegen to replace Ederson in their goal.

“I don’t know what Manchester City are planning, but I don’t think they are very happy with Ederson. I think Ter Stegen could definitely be a goalkeeper for the Cityzens for the next three or four years,” he told Sky Germany (h/t SPORT).

Discussing his compatriot’s difficult situation at Barça, the former Germany captain added:

“The situation is unpleasant for him. He has returned in good shape after a long injury and has shown, especially in the Nations League against France, that he is still a world-class goalkeeper at 33 years of age.”

However, he acknowledged that Barcelona are well within their right to move to a younger goalkeeper like Garcia, saying:

“Garcia is nine years younger, is already part of the Spanish national team and is expected to play for them in the future.

“A club is within its rights to say that for the future it will go for a younger goalkeeper who can also cost less in wages.”

What next for Ter Stegen? (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)

Matthaus stated that he believed Barcelona were not dictating Hansi Flick’s choices as far as the goalkeeping spot is concerned but insisted that the manager had shown he still trusted Ter Stegen.

“I don’t know how Barça will act, whether Hansi Flick will be instructed to play the new goalkeeper,” he said.

“I could imagine that Hansi has spoken internally in favour of Ter Stegen. Why would a coach be against a very good goalkeeper? Flick used Ter Stegen in La Liga at the end of last season. That shows that he trusts him.”

Still, Matthaus noted that the club “also has its interests,” and if Barcelona back Garcia, “it could become a dangerous situation for Ter Stegen,” potentially leading to a point where “Julian Nagelsmann can no longer justify calling him up if he is only on the bench at Barcelona.”

For this reason, Matthaus believes that with Szczesny likely to renew, “I suppose Ter Stegen will leave Barcelona.”

Addressing the interest shown by Galatasaray in the German shot-stopper, the legend added:

“Galatasaray have shown their ambitions with the signing of Sané and will play in the Champions League next season.

“There are also six clubs in England who will play in the Champions League next season, and not all of them have such a strong goalkeeper to say: ‘Ter Stegen would not be a reinforcement for us.'”