BOMBAZO: FC Barcelona officially announces the removal of Ter Stegen's captaincy

What was an open secret is now official. Marc-André ter Stegen will no longer be captain of the FC Barcelona first team, at least until all the controversy that has surrounded him in recent days is resolved.

The Blaugrana team confirmed this decision through a brief statement issued on Thursday morning. In that letter, the following can be read verbatim:

"FC Barcelona informs that, as a result of the disciplinary proceedings opened against the player Marc-André ter Stegen, and until this procedure is definitively resolved, the Club, in consensus with the Sports Management and the technical staff, has decided to temporarily remove him from the captaincy of the first football team."

Ronald Araujo will provisionally be the new first captain of FC Barcelona 

In turn, the Barça team took the opportunity to make official who will provisionally occupy the functions of the first captain while the case is defined:

"During this period, the functions of first captain will be assumed by the current second captain, the player Ronald Araujo"

The decision puts an end to one of the major sources of tension that stirred the Blaugrana environment. For days, rumors about the possible loss of the armband by the German goalkeeper had intensified. It was even speculated whether he would be the one to give the traditional captain's speech at the Joan Gamper Trophy, a usual event to present the squad to the fans.

Gamper without tension: Ter Stegen will not present himself as captain

Finally, the player from Mönchengladbach, immersed in an authentic internal war with the Catalan club, will not have to face that moment of public scrutiny in the Joan Gamper Trophy, at least not as the wearer of the armband. What is clear is that the conflict between FC Barcelona and Marc-André ter Stegen is completely open. It is no longer a simple rumor; now it is a palpable evidence.

The relationship between the German goalkeeper and the team from the Condal City is going through its most tense moment: losing the captaincy speaks of a direct degradation of his status, and the opening of disciplinary proceedings shows the institutional position on the case.

MATS refuses to sign the medical report of the Blaugrana club

It remains to be seen what the next movements will be in a novel whose most recent —and perhaps most decisive— episode originated after the goalkeeper's refusal to sign the medical report on his long-term injury.

The document had to be sent to the Medical Commission of LaLiga, in order to validate the leave and allow Barcelona to invoke article 77 of the Budget Preparation Standard of Clubs and SADs, thus enabling them to use 80% of the German's salary to register new additions. In this case, that of Joan García.

The decision was not well received in the offices. In his official statement —the one that confirmed that he would undergo surgery—, Ter Stegen hinted that he plans to return much sooner than the club estimated in its reports. Therefore, he refused to sign the medical report, shielding himself in the principle of protection of medical data to refuse to stamp his signature.

That refusal further complicated internal management. And the entity hoped to have that salary space to resolve urgent registrations. The tension grew, not only for economic reasons, but also for symbolic ones: refusing to collaborate in an institutional procedure was apparently perceived as a gesture of rebellion in Can Barça.

Tensions with Ter Stegen did not start with the medical report

To this situation is added the attitude of the goalkeeper at the beginning of the summer market. Despite the open doors for his departure, Ter Stegen dug his heels in and dismissed all proposals, whether by transfer or contract termination. At no time did he show any intention of facilitating an agreed departure, and that further strained the relationship with the board.

The sum of controversies has strained the rope to the limit. What seemed like a controllable situation has ended up exploding, and far from a peaceful outcome, everything points to the tension between Barcelona and Ter Stegen continuing to escalate.