The future of Marc-Andre ter Stegen is taking up plenty of headline space in Barcelona, with the German potentially holding the key to their ability to register new signing, and indeed the man brought in to replace him, Joan Garcia. The 33-year-old must give the green light for Barcelona to activate the emergency injury rule, allowing him to use 50% of his salary limit space towards Garcia.
Barcelona were keen to force out ter Stegen this summer, but were met with a double-edged sword in the form of a persistent back injury. The issue required surgery, which is set to rule him out anywhere between three and five months, which could allow them to activate the emergency injury rule, easing their salary limit situation temporarily, but all but ended their hopes of moving him on this summer.
Roony Bardghji: “My teammates are looking after me. It’s great to be on tour with the team. I always dreamed of wearing this jersey.” @BarcaOneFCB
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 1, 2025
Barcelona need signature to activate injury rule
Ter Stegen had announced that he would be out for three months, despite many prognostics saying that he would miss four months of action, the minimum needed to activate the injury rule. It has been reported that the surgeon Dr. Amelie Leglise, who operated on ter Stegen, has submitted a medical report saying that he will have an estimated recovery time of four months or more. Yet Barcelona need a signature from ter Stegen to allow them to share his medical report with La Liga and begin the process of activating the injury rule.
Deco to hold talks with ter Stegen
It is explained by Sport that Director of Football Deco will hold talks with ter Stegen on his return from Barcelona’s preseason tour to South-East Asia. They are keen not to overwhelm ter Stegen at a tricky time, and Deco intends to convince him not to cause any problems with the above issue. His plan is to put the recent past, with Barcelona leaking that his captaincy could be removed, behind them, and reach a cordial agreement with the veteran.
During that meeting, Deco will communicate that he has the backing of the club, and they do not intend to remove him as captain.
