Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal are poised to make a blockbuster offer for Barcelona’s veteran star, signaling a potential shift in the club.
Barcelona’s interest in Espanyol’s Joan Garcia as an eventual long-term replacement has created chatter around the veteran’s future and his role at Camp Nou.
With the club’s general management silent on the situation, it has created the possibility of an exit for tactical and financial reasons.
The player in question is Barcelona’s starting goalkeeper and long-time mainstay, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, as reported by Diario Sport.
Although he has been the unquestionable leader for the club, Barcelona’s aggressive pursuit of Garcia shows they may be shifting direction on their once-untouchable keeper.
At age 33, ter Stegen likely has one of the highest salaries in the squad, and releasing his salary would help ease the financial burden on the club.
In the absence of direct information pointing directly to ter Stegen, the lack of correspondence with their captain points to increased speculation that the club would prefer to see ter Stegen depart quietly, especially when trying to avoid straining relationships between multiple elite goalkeepers jockeying for the same position.
Al Hilal, again no strangers to aggressive transfer policy, pursued Ter Stegen last summer but were rebuffed as Ter Stegen would only stay in Europe.
But now that Ter Stegen’s role at Barcelona is less guaranteed and with few European clubs able to match what he earned in salary, nor provide a guarantee of being a starter, Al Hilal’s approach with a significant offer that might make him the most expensive goalkeeper in history could entice.
Ter Stegen has made clear his priority is to stay at Barcelona, given his love for the club and the city, but the feelings of potentially being undervalued could change that.
Though moving to Saudi Arabia does seem a step down in sportsmanship, the financial benefits and Al Hilal’s ambition could make it an opportunity far too hard to ignore.
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