Joan Garcia finally crosses paths with 33-year-old Barcelona goalkeeper at the Ciutat Esportiva – Report | OneFootball

The current atmosphere at FC Barcelona is one of preparation and anticipation for next season. Hansi Flick expects his players to return to the club soon from their vacations, and there is no more time for rest. For Barcelona, the objective is now to focus on the preseason tour.

However, there is a certain dilemma that has to be dealt with at the club as well. That particular issue has to deal with the goalkeeping situation, as there are now three players at the club that will be fighting for a starting position but Barça will likely put their trust in only two of them.

One of those players is Joan Garcia, and he seems to be the player that Barcelona wish to place their trust in. The Spaniard arrived this summer and happens to be the first and only signing for the club so far at the time of writing.

Joan Garcia and Ter Stegen finally coincide

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Wojciech Szczesny in training. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

The other two first-team goalkeepers are Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Wojciech Szczesny, while Inaki Pena seems to be on his way out. As for Szczesny, the player’s contract was recently renewed and it seems likely that Barcelona are trusting him to be the back-up to Garcia next season.

That leaves 33-year-old Ter Stegen in a rather complicated spot, but he still reportedly returned to the Ciutat Esportiva early this summer. There, as highlighted by MARCA, he finally coincided with Joan Garcia for the first time since the Spaniard has joined Barcelona.

Garcia has been working at the Barcelona facilities since Tuesday, and Ter Stegen has now returned on Thursday as well. For both players, the objective is to find a starting spot in the team next season and prove to Hansi Flick that they are the ones to be relied upon.

The German wants to stay at Barcelona

However, even though Garcia has been signed by the club to improve the squad’s overall quality, Ter Stegen will not exactly leave just like that. While his departure would be quite beneficial in terms of the salary space, the German goalkeeper seems to want to stay for now.

Recent reports have suggested that while that may be the case for now, he could reevaluate his situation in January if he gets extremely limited playing time. That would be due to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and that tournament is something that Ter Stegen does not want to miss or be a part of as anything but Germany’s number one choice between the sticks.