The German international triggered a civil war behind the scenes at the Camp Nou at the start of last the 2025/26 campaign following his furious reaction to the club signing Joan Garcia from Espanyol to replace him as No.1.
As part of a high stakes stand off following his decision to undergo back surgery, the club suspended him and temporarily removed the captaincy from the veteran stopper as he blocked medical reports being submitted to LaLiga to facilitate Garcia’s formal registration.
The issue was eventually resolved, and Ter Stegen’s freed up ‘salary space’ was repurposed to prove Barca could cover Garcia’s wages, as part of a delicate financial balancing act which kept him as captain of the club.
After not featuring in a league game following his return from injury at the end of 2026, Barcelona sanctioned a January loan to Girona, which was also wrecked by injury with weeks of joining their Catalan neighbours.
Girona’s subsequent relegation saw Michel sacked as head coach, but Mundo Deportivo claim he could now be reunited with Ter Stegen, after the Spaniard accepted the vacant manager’s role at Ajax.
Michel is keen to add a figure of Ter Stegen’s vast experience to his new Ajax squad and Hansi Flick has no place for him back at Barca.
The club want a permanent sale to remove his wages of their inflated salary bill, with Ter Stegen under contract until 2028, but Ajax are yet to table a formal offer and the Dutch giants could push for Barca to settle his contract to enable a free transfer.