Barcelona Star Ter Stegen Handed Reality Check By German Director Ahead Of FIFA 2026 World Cup

Barcelona's long-serving goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been a key player for the Catalan side. While the player has had a successful club career, his international career has mostly been spent waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. Currently, the player finds himself at a crossroads between recovery and competition after a message from the very top of German soccer.

For the longest time, Ter Stegen was overshadowed by Manuel Neuer, but with Neuer's retirement ahead of the upcoming World Cup, this could be Stegen's chance to shine at the international level. However, a serious back injury sidelined him for months, and by the time he returned, the dynamics at Barcelona had changed completely. The arrival of a new goalkeeper at club level has complicated Stegen's path back into the starting XI.

Recently, Rudi Voller, the sporting director of the German national team, stated clearly that the Barcelona star would need to get enough minutes to be Germany's number 1 at the 2026 World Cup.

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Rudi Voller On Ter Stegen's Situation

Earlier this year, German head coach Julian Nagelsmann made it clear that the Catalan club goalkeeper was his first choice in Neuer's absence. However, Voller recently shared that to make it on the team, he would need to play as many games as possible to prove his worth.

In an interview with Kicker, he shared, "It doesn’t matter if he’s still in Barcelona or somewhere else; in the end, he has to play. And then we will all be happy for him if, after many years as a world-class goalkeeper in the shadow of Manuel Neuer, he has the opportunity to be between the posts at a World Cup."

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Ter Stegen Keen On Staying At Camp Nou

As per reports by Football Espana, the German international has no plans to leave Camp Nou despite several rumors of a potential move.