Barcelona will reportedly look to offload 30-year-old German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen if they fail to cash in on Frenkie de Jong this summer.
According to Spanish outlet El Larguero, Marc-Andre ter Stegen might be next in line to be on the chopping block if Barcelona cannot sell Frenkie de Jong in the summer transfer window. The 30-year-old is one of the highest earners at Camp Nou, making him a candidate for Barcelona to cash in on to balance their books.
Barcelona might have eased the financial crisis that had engulfed the club in the last couple of years, but they are not out of the woods yet. Joan Laporta has had a lot of money to spend this summer due to the activation of economic levers, with Jules Kounde set to be the latest big-money arrival at Camp Nou.
However, without offloading players and lightening the wage bill, Barcelona will not be able to register new players, an issue that had also bothered them last summer. With that in mind, Frenkie de Jong has been the prime candidate for Barcelona to sell to raise funds and balance their books.
Widespread reports have suggested that Barcelona and Manchester United have already agreed to a transfer fee for the Dutch midfielder. But de Jong does not wish to move to Old Trafford, even though the Red Devils are ready to hand him a lucrative contract to prise him away from Barcelona.
However, with de Jong adamant that he will only join Bayern Munich, a club that will not sign him, the Catalan giants are in limbo over their prospects of registering the new players. So Barcelona will have to identify an alternative method to balance the books, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen presenting such a solution.
The 30-year-old German star is one of Barcelona’s highest earners, and selling him will lighten the wage bill considerably. But according to reliable Spanish journalist Javi Miguel, ter Stegen is not for sale and will not depart from Camp Nou at any cost in the summer transfer window.
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So if Javi Miguel is correct, Barcelona’s hopes of registering the new signings have taken another hit, especially with de Jong not going anywhere. But it remains to be seen if El Larguero’s claims about ter Stegen’s transfer status are accurate and if the 30-year-old star ends up on the chopping block.
