Barcelona and Marc-Andre ter Stegen will continue to lock Hoorns about his role and his future this summer. The German captain is unhappy with the club and has exercised what power he has.
The attempts to force him after the signing of Joan Garcia did not go well with the 33-year-old, who was also told that he will be third choice this season if he stays with the club. Moreover, he is not happy with leaking abnormal stories about his character, nor threats from the club to remove the captain from him.
The last flash point took place after Ter Stegen has undergone surgery on his back and reportedly excluded him for four to five months. In theory Barcelona would allow the injury rule to activate and use 50% of his salary to register a new goalkeeper, in this case Garcia or Wojciech Szczesny. To do this, however, Barcelona needs Ter Stegen's signature to share confidential medical information with La Liga.
Ter Stegen refuses to do this, and as a result, Barcelona has dedicated their legal services to look at which sanctions they can impose on him as part of the disciplinary protocol.
Sport continues to say that the rest of the Barcelona players are at the back of Stegen. In the midst of the threat that Barcelona takes the Captainincy from Ter Stegen, manager Hansi Flick said it would be decided by a vote from the players. If that comes by, the Barcelona players will support Ter Stegen and vote him again.
They believe that the club and Ter Stegen are involved in a dispute and would like to show solidarity with him instead of stating a precedent that could harm them in the future. The Barcelona players do not intend to 'betray' their captain.
The first signs of that took place last week, then a number of players, including Ferran Torres, Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde and Pau Cubarsi, all made public shows of support for Ter Stegen. The history of Barcelona about trying to force players, including De Jong, no doubt does not help the attitude of the Dutchman towards the issue.