Barcelona coach Hansi Flick says Marc-André ter Stegen must make a decision over his future after reiterating that Joan García is the club's No.1 goalkeeper now.
Ter Stegen, 33, made just nine appearances last season after injuring his knee and missed the start of the current campaign after undergoing surgery on a back problem.
The German international returned to fitness earlier this month but has found himself on the bench in the last two games behind García, a €25 million ($29m) summer signing from Espanyol.
"This is his decision," Flick said in a news conference Friday when asked if Ter Stegen could leave in January in order to fight for a place in Germany's World Cup squad next summer.
"We spoke about his situation and I respect Marc a lot because he's a fantastic goalkeeper. He's a really good player for us, also a good human for the team, but at the end it's his decision and he has to decide, so it's about that."
Ter Stegen has made 422 appearances since signing from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, winning 17 trophies in that time, but that counts for little now.
He is not even guaranteed to get minutes in Tuesday's Copa del Rey tie away at fourth-tier side Guadalajara.
García will not be involved as he is given time off ahead of Sunday's LaLiga trip to Villarreal, but Flick says he has not decided whether that will mean game time for Ter Stegen or Wojciech Szczesny.
"Joan will rest," Flick said. "But today is not the day to make the decisions [on who will play]. I want to wait until tomorrow.
"Of course, Marc is a fantastic goalkeeper. In the goal, we have three excellent players. I am really happy about this. We will see what happens.
"But it's clear what I said before: Joan is No.1. From there, we will see what happens. Tek [Szczęsny] played last season a fantastic season, we won with him three titles. Also, this season, when Joan was injured, he gave us stability.
"For me, Tek is not only on the pitch, but also in the dressing room, a really important player for us."
Bacdimnpsy
0
go go go, thanks.
Sokalmst
0
🇦🇫🤝🇵🇰
Sokalmst
0
Sokalmst
2
hi
besbklrz
1
go to spur or united their keepers are trash
M_cAveli
2
Leave the team as an immortal with a great history than to embarrass yourself and spoil it. You shall always be remembered as one of our best keepers. For some reason, you haven’t had back your good form and over time, it’s better to leave than to be on the bench.
Rmulbah1992
3
TER STEGEN JUST MOVE ON KNOWING THAT YOUR DAYS WITH BARCA ARE NUMBERED.
woaabdipru
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æujj