Ter Stegen finalizes the details of his loan to Girona

FC Barcelona is very close to finalizing a six-month loan deal for Marc-André ter Stegen to Girona. The club has left the resolution of his future in the goalkeeper's hands, once his role as backup to Joan García in the three competitions at stake (League, Cup, and Champions League) for the remainder of the 2025/26 season has been defined.

Hansi Flick was blunt with the captain about the decision to keep the goalkeeper from Sallent as number one in all competitions. In this regard, 'Matts', who needs to play regularly in the second half of the season to arrive in good shape for the World Cup, has had no choice but to listen to offers from other clubs to go on loan for six months.

Ter Stegen's reasons for accepting Girona's offer

Girona's option, whose main objective is to stay in the league, did not seem the most attractive sportingly. However, Ter Stegen valued the possibility of staying in Barcelona, close to his children and in a city where he feels very comfortable after more than a decade with the Blaugrana team.

For the 31-year-old goalkeeper, the important thing is to regain the lost prominence at Can Barça, something that **Míchel** seems to guarantee him at Montilivi. After the failed signing of the Croatian **Dominik Livakovic**, Girona will go for another goalkeeper to replace the experienced **Paulo Gazzaniga**, who has conceded 28 goals in 19 league matches this season.

Míchel is confident that the signing of Ter Stegen will allow the Girona team to **definitively move away from the relegation places**, after occupying the red zone of the table during the first third of the season.

In fact, the 'albirrojos' are already ninth after stringing together a streak of three consecutive victories and have moved closer to the Conference League zone. Girona played in the Champions League in 24/25 and **dreams of returning to Europe** next season, although the priority is to stay in the First Division after a 2025 to forget.

Barça will continue to pay the majority of Ter Stegen's salary

Marc-André ter Stegen, for his part, will meet the objective of regaining the consistency that the German national team demands of him to secure his starting position and captaincy in the World Cup. **Barça will assume a majority percentage of his salary (14 million gross)**, with hopes that his time at Montilivi will serve to improve his market options for next summer.

'Matts' will return to the club in July and the idea is to resolve a permanent transfer before the start of 26/27. **The 33-year-old goalkeeper is still under contract until 2028** and has no intention of forgiving any of his remaining salary to the club with which he last renewed in 2023, agreeing to defer the bulk of his salary for the last three seasons of his contract.

In principle, the loan to Girona should be made official next week, although the winter transfer window closes on February 2. While the parties finalize details, Ter Stegen will continue training with the Barça squad. On Sunday, he will once again be a substitute at Anoeta for the Catalans' visit to Real Sociedad (21:00 h)