Is it time for Barcelona to finally get rid of Marc-Andre ter Stegen?

Catalan club need to upgrade their goalkeeper if they are to compete in big competitions.

Barcelona’s start to the new UEFA Champions League campaign saw them fall to a 2-1 defeat against AS Monaco. It was the club’s first loss under Hansi Flick and of the 2024-25 season.

Before the game even started it was already over for them. Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s poor judgement and pass to Eric Garcia saw the team dispossessed and when Garcia tried to win the ball back, he brought down the opposition player which saw him receive a red card.

A few minutes later the hosts, AS Monaco, found the back of the net. Barcelona managed to level the score through Lamine Yamal 12 minutes later. As the game continued Barcelona did make many goalscoring chances but Monaco were the one to get all three points after scoring in the 71st minute.

Fans were frustrated given the club’s impressive start to the new season under Flick. The Champions League defeat was a big indication of why the club need to bring in a new goalkeeper, one who can uplift the team’s performance.

Ter Stegen has often been in the limelight for making such reckless passes or his poor decision-making letting down the club many times. The German international seems to be coming under pressure during big games which sees him allow goals easily. Against Monaco, it was another disaster from the former Borussia Mönchengladbach custodian.

When he spoke to the media he also failed to take the blame for his error and instead said: “We didn’t understand each other well in the play, me and Eric. I feel bad for Eric. Something happened that shouldn’t have happened to us, but that’s football. We stood up to our challenge with 10 men,”

Does Barcelona need an upgrade between the sticks?

The 32-year-old joined Barcelona in 2014 from Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was not a regular starter but the exit of Claudio Bravo saw the German goalkeeper become their preferred choice between the sticks.

Ter Stegen did have many good seasons with the club but there have been more bad days when Barcelona really needed him. There have been many instances such as their game against AS Roma when the Serie A club made one of the biggest comebacks, winning the game with the help of an away goal with a 4-4 aggregate.

Ter Stegen gave up a lot of easy goals. If he had done better in that period, the club might not have suffered humiliation. Over the past seven years, there have been 12 instances in which the custodian has made either individual mistakes or was poor in front of the goal, leading to Barcelona’s defeats.

Even last season against PSG, he conceded four goals in the UCL second leg. It may be time for the Spanish team to finally bring in a custodian who can be relied upon in pivotal games, as he has always been the primary factor behind the team’s misfortunes in close games.

Barcelona should take Real Madrid as an example of how the Los Blancos allowed Keylor Navas to leave when the time was right and upgraded their goalline with Thibaut Courtois.

Madrid have greatly improved with the signing of the Belgian, who has always been a wall in front of the goal. Courtois has prevented Los Blancos from losing on numerous times, including the most recent Champions League final matchup with Borussia Dortmund. His lightning-fast reflexes and exemplary shot-stopping kept them from giving up goals. He was even outstanding in their UCL final matchup with Liverpool, where a similar circumstance transpired.

In their recent game against VfB Stuttgart, he was terrific and made many goal-saving stops that saw Real eventually win. This is the kind of goalie Barcelona need, one who can step up with excellent shot-stopping qualities when the team is not performing.

If Ter Stegen continues at the club then Barcelona are always likely to struggle in big competitions against big sides.

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