Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen opens up on separation from wife and media reporting | OneFootball

Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen has explained that the damage done by the reporting of his separation from wife Dani ter Stegen (nee Jehle) remains irreparable. The German goalkeeper announced his parting of ways from Dani in March, and asked for privacy, but shortly after, it was reported that the motive was Jehle’s unfaithfulness.

During an interview with BILD carried by El Desmarque, ter Stegen explained that the whole situation was tragic.

“I find it tragic that such accusations are being made without any consideration. The person most affected by this was, of course, Dani, and I felt so sorry for her because she didn’t deserve it. It’s completely disrespectful, and I find it absurd that these people weren’t ashamed to cross such a line, especially having children.”

Ter Stegen then took to social media to publicly deny their claims, and named the journalists involved. He called the reports false news, and directly denied that Dani had been involved romantically with anyone else. The journalists involved would then offer up an apology in the following days.

“This is a small first step in the right direction. The fact that we received so much positive feedback on our response doesn’t make me happy at all. In the end, it was completely inappropriate. It remains irreparable.”

Meanwhile the 32-year-old explained that Dani and his two children, Ben and Tom, are all living close by in Barcelona currently.

Image via RTVE

“We have two fantastic children and are finding the right fit for our new situation. Dani and the kids still live here. We currently live five minutes away from each other, which is obviously perfect for me. I see the kids every day, and as long as that continues, I’ll be the happiest person in the world.”

Ter Stegen has spent most of this season out injured following a horrific knee problem in September that required surgery. The Blaugrana captain recently returned to training after six months of rehabilitation though, and is aiming to come back before the end of the season. He will have to convince manager Hansi Flick that he should drop Wojciech Szczesny first though.