Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been quizzed on the goalkeeping situation in a new interview after the Catalans signed Joan Garcia from Espanyol.
The stopper is now expected to be the club’s No. 1, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen having been told he’ll have to fight for his place.
Laporta (who was speaking before Ter Stegen announced he’d be undergoing surgery) has now explained why Barca went for Garcia.
“The goalkeeping situation has been an excellent one for Deco and his entire team because what
ADwe unfortunately imagined with Marc André, who is still not fully recovered, has happened,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“We’re watching how he progresses and what decisions he makes about whether he’ll have to undergo surgery or not, with a more conservative recovery. We’ll be fully at his side, supporting him in whatever way he needs. But this did create a complicated situation for us in goal because we thought we needed to bring in a goalkeeper with Joan Garcia’s profile.
“It was a good deal in every sense because a goalkeeper of his quality, if we had had to go out and find him on the market, would have been complicated and more expensive, with some difficulty in finding one of his caliber. The opportunity arose, Deco was pursuing it, and Joan Garcia was one of our targets.”
Laporta then said it’s now up to Hansi Flick to decide on which goalkeeper will play for the first team next season.
“From a sporting perspective, it depends on the coach, but it’s true that a goalkeeper of enormous quality has been signed to play, and only one can play in goal. That will be the coach’s decision,” he added.
“Marc André is an important player in the Barça squad, he’s the captain, and he’s given us a lot of joy, but after his knee injury, a problem with his lower back has worsened, preventing him from training, and he’s at the point of deciding whether to have surgery or undergo a more conservative recovery.
“It’s his decision, but a certain situation arose in the goalkeeper’s position that the coach thought needed to be strengthened.”
Ter Stegen has since announced he will undergo surgery and be out for three months, while Barca are thought to believe his recovery time will be around 4-5 months.
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