FC Barcelona Set to Take Legal Action Against Goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen - Here's Why

Defending La Liga champions FC Barcelona are at odds with and could take legel action against veteran goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen after he goalkeeper refused to sign a medical report about his back injury that could have helped the club register new players. 

An anonymous source told news agency Associated Press that the club needed Ter Stegen to sign the report so it could be sent to the Spanish league in order to clear some salary-cap space and more easily register other players without breaching financial fair play rules.

But the club and the goalkeeper are not in agreement over the recovery time for the surgery that has taken place. 

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Salary Concerns For Barcelona

Ter Stegen said before the surgery took place that his recovery time would be around three months. The club, however, gave no official timetable for the recovery process, saying only that the operation was “successful" and that “his recovery will determine when he can return.” 

Depending on the length of the recovery process, Barcelona could clear a percentage of Ter Stegen’s salary from its cap, making more room to add other players to the squad - something Barcelona desperately need. 

The club signed Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia in June and also have veteran Wojciech Szczesny and Inaki Pena on their rolls as goalkeeping options. 

The league will have to evaluate the report before approving any official recovery time for the German. 

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Ter Stegen's Latest Issue

Ter Stegen, one of the team's captains, did not immediately speak publicly after Barcelona said it opened the disciplinary proceeding. He and the club had been expected to meet to discuss the situation in the coming days.

The 33-year-old German goalkeeper missed nearly all of last season because of a tendon rupture in his knee, and in 2023 he missed about two months because of another back operation. 

Peña and the 35-year-old Szczęsny started in place of Ter Stegen during his knee injury.

It is not clear as of now what type of sanction Ter Stegen was facing for not signing the report, but it is the latest in a long line of issues the goalkeeper has had with the club.