Barcelona received the news on Wednesday that goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen would be ruled out for four months. Despite the Germany international announcing that he would be back fit after three months, this would allow Barcelona to activate La Liga’s emergency injury rule, which permits them to use a percentage of ter Stegen’s salary limit space to register other players.

However ter Stegen will have the last say, says Jordi Ardevol, of La Liga’s medical expert committee. He told as much to RAC1 (via Sport), noting that in order for Barcelona to activate the emergency injury rule, ter Stegen must sign off on the documents in order for the club to share his medical information. If ter Stegen did not agree with the medical report, he would essentially be able to scupper Barcelona’s attempts to activate the rule, which are thought to be crucial in their bid to register ter Stegen’s replacement, Joan Garcia.

Barcelona will only be able to use 50% of ter Stegen’s salary limit space

A similar sequence of events unfolded last season, when veteran Wojciech Szczesny was signed out of retirement. Barcelona were able to use 80% of the amount ter Stegen was earning to register an emergency replacement, but Cadena SER explain that the rule is different if the German’s injury occurs during the transfer window. That being the case, Barcelona will only be able to use 50% of his salary amount to register a new player.

Germany position puts ter Stegen under pressure

Meanwhile one of Barcelona’s bargaining chips with which to persuade ter Stegen to leave was to bench him, with the 33-year-old desperate to play the 2026 World Cup with Germany. Yet in Germany, BILD report that Bayern Munich veteran Manuel Neuer could return to international duty to play in the USA if he is asked. Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann is also a candidate to compete for the number one spot next summer, and he will be given a chancein Germany’s remaining fixtures in 2025.

Ter Stegen accused of bullying behaviour

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has confirmed that the squad will vote for their captains next season, but Cadena SER go on to say that if it were up to the hierarchy at the club, they would have removed ter Stegen as captain. He is accused of trying to bully Szczesny and Inaki Pena towards the end of last season, as he attempted to regain his starting spot, once declared fit again. It is also noted that he is not the most popular figure in the dressing room.

The report from Dr. Amélie Léglise, who performed the surgery on Ter Stegen, estimates a 4-month recovery period. @QueThiJugues

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 30, 2025

Rift with Barcelona grows

One of the reasons that ter Stegen is frustrated with Barcelona, beyond their attempts to oust him in favour of Garcia, was the leaking of reports about his character to the press. The above would appear to fit that description, and similar has happened to Frenkie de Jong, when Barcelona were trying to force the Dutchman out.