The return of the squad and Gavi's birthday, overshadowed by the 'Ter Stegen case'

FC Barcelona has completed a bittersweet return after the successful preseason Asian tour. The festive atmosphere in the squad, in the middle of Gavi's birthday, has been overshadowed by the tension between the board and Marc-André ter Stegen.

The goalkeeper and first blaugrana captain has not yet approved the club's official medical report, which sets his recovery time at more than four months. The '1' insists on being able to return to action in a period of no more than 12 weeks and the blaugrana team has chosen to open disciplinary proceedings against him.

The Barça squad, surprised by the situation with Ter Stegen

In the middle of the 'soap opera' between the board and 'Matts', the squad returned to Catalonia to enjoy two days off, along with the celebration of Gavi's 21st birthday. The Andalusian brought forward the celebrations of his birthday with a double against Daegu FC (0-5), but like the rest of the group, he feels bad about the situation with Ter Stegen.

The full squad recognizes the German as captain and remains on the sidelines of the decisions that the coaching staff and the board make regarding his future. Marc-André has been exemplary as a teammate and player since his arrival at the club in 2014, which is why this is an unexpected and very uncomfortable situation.

The problem is that Barça insists on giving him long-term leave for two reasons. First, to avoid future relapses, as this is the second time that the 33-year-old footballer has undergone surgery in the last two years to treat his back problems.

Secondly, the club prioritizes saving 80% of his salary through his absence for more than four months. This is the fastest way to resolve the registrations of Joan García and Wojciech Szczesny, both without a license to play on matchday 1 of LaLiga a week and a half before the start of the competition.

Ter Stegen refuses to speak to Barça and tightens the rope further

Ter Stegen, although he has a contract until 2028 and the bulk of his salary (around 14 million gross per year) to collect, is a fixed discard for Hansi Flick after the signing of the Catalan goalkeeper and the renewal of 'Tek'.

However, his injury closed the door to a departure via loan or transfer in the summer market. Now, Barça is betting on keeping him on the sidelines in the first half of 25/26 and resolving his departure in the winter transfer window, probably through the termination of his contract.

To do this, the club will have to negotiate compensation with the German, who renewed in 2023 accepting to defer most of his salary for the last three years of his contract. The culé board, for now, leaves the case in the hands of LaLiga, alleging 'bad faith' on the part of the Mönchengladbach native for refusing to sign the official medical report.

'Matts', meanwhile, remains silent and ignores the calls from the doctors and directors of Barcelona. The goalkeeper traveled alone to Bordeaux last week for surgery, although when leaving for France he assured that his relationship with the club