Barcelona will be heading into tonight’s game against PSG with Wojciech Szczesny in goal, as new signing Joan Garcia is injured, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been sidelined due to surgery.
In any case, the German wouldn’t have been considered for the first-team – something Barcelona made it clear in the summer, thus leading to quite an internal brawl.
In a recent interview with BILD (h/t SPORT) ahead of the PSG tie, Hansi Flick opened up about the Ter Stegen saga in the summer, admitting that communications could have been better between the two sides.
What Flick said about ter Stegen
As someone who has managed Ter Stegen during his time with the German national team, it is clear that Flick wanted to avoid the drama between the player and Barcelona that transpired in the summer.
That is why the German admitted that both parties, including himself, could have handled the situation better.
“If everything related to communication were always handled in the best way? I think there is a lot to improve, even on my part,” he said.
At the same time, though, the German coach did back Joan Garcia, even offering a rationale as to why the club chose to go with the former Espanyol starlet.
“With Joan Garcia, we have a very young and very talented goalkeeper, who is already at a very high level, and among all of us, we decided that he should be the future of Barcelona. So our approach was clear,” he said.
Finally, Flick admitted that he is happy that Barcelona and ter Stegen were able to reach some sort of agreement at the end, especially after the German tried to freeze out his medical report.
“For me, it is important that Marc and the club have reached out and sought genuine communication.
“It is important that Marc returns now. He is a top-level goalkeeper and will receive all the support he needs from us so that he can return to his current level,” he concluded..
