Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen gives green light for exit

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had thus far maintained a desire to compete for his spot at the club, despite the arrival of Joan Garcia last summer. However the German veteran now appears to have changed his stance.

Girona manager Michel Sanchez declared an interest in ter Stegen in late December, but the 33-year-old was not looking to leave the club. However it appears with Hansi Flick continuing to use Garcia in goal for the cup competitions too, that ter Stegen is now open to an exit. Germany Sporting Director Rudi Voller and manager Julian Nagelsmann have both been public in declaring that ter Stegen must be playing first team football in order to go to the World Cup as number one for die Mannschaft.

🚨 FC Barcelona have added Micky van de Ven (24) to their transfer targets for next summer. The defender wants to leave Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, and would love to join Barça. The club trust that this summer there will be the necessary resources available to face a… pic.twitter.com/yrJqlIe7WI

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 9, 2026

Ter Stegen gives green light for Girona move

One of the obstacles for an exit that Barcelona were open to, with his large salary weighing down the bench, was the fact that ter Stegen was keen to remain in the Catalan capital to be close to his children. A loan move to Girona allows him to do so, and to get first team football. Sport say he is now in a position where he would give the green light to the move if a deal is agreed.

Can Girona and Barcelona reach a deal?

Whether Girona and Barcelona reach a deal is another matter. Barcelona are demanding at least 20-25% of ter Stegen’s wages be covered in order to sanction a loan move, with the German’s wages thought to be around €12m per annum. The 33-year-old has no intention of giving up money to make the move happen either. For their part, Girona are only willing to pay €1m of ter Stegen’s wages in order to make the deal happen.

Averaged out over the remainder of the season, it would put the different at around €1.5-2m. Given it appears to be in everyone’s interests for the move to happen, a compromise seems logical, but it requires one of the parties to blink first.