Can Barcelona sign a player to replace Ter Stegen? La Liga president answers

This past Sunday, FC Barcelona were dealt yet another huge blow as Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a serious injury during the La Liga clash against Villarreal.

The 32-year-old club captain had to be stretchered off on the night and everything indicates that the injury is a major one, with his season likely to be over.

This leaves Barça in a very difficult position, as they will have to rely on Inaki Pena to do the job in goal for the remainder of the season, with untested youngsters like Ander Astralaga and Diego Kochen as backups.

This has opened the doors to the possibility of Barcelona roping in a replacement for Ter Stegen – either right now by signing a free agent, or waiting until January to bring in someone from a different club.

La Liga president responds

Speaking at a media appearance earlier today, La Liga president Javier Tebas addressed the possibility of Barcelona signing a replacement for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The La Liga chief confirmed that Barça can sign an emergency replacement if they can prove the German’s injury is long-term, while also stating that the signing does not necessarily need to be a goalkeeper.

“Barça will be able to bring in a player if the injury is long-term. It could be a goalkeeper or not…,” he said, as quoted by AS.

Commenting on the club’s economic situation, Tebas added: “Their situation is exaggerated. It is better than it was two years ago. It will be better in two years’ time.

“There are rules that must be complied with, there’s no room for complacency. It is said to discredit La Liga. There is no wide berth neither for Barça nor for Racing. They are complicated rules for the fans to understand.”

What are Barcelona’s options?

If the doctors confirm that Ter Stegen will be sidelined for more than four months, as all indications are that he has a ruptured patellar tendon, Barcelona will have the option of turning to the transfer market to find a replacement.

Although the transfer window closed on 31 August, clubs have the possibility of registering new players in La Liga if that player is unemployed and his contract with his previous club had been terminated before the close of the transfer window.

The fact that the Blaugrana have exceeded the salary limit will not be a major obstacle to signing another goalkeeper, as they can use 80% of Ter Stegen’s salary to sign and register a replacement.

However, unlike in the winter of 2020, when they brought in Martin Braithwaite from Leganes by paying his release clause as an emergency off-window signing, Barcelona will be unable to sign a player from another club to replace Ter Stegen.

Back then, the regulations allowed that team to buy another player from the same competition to make up for the injury but left the selling club at a disadvantage as they would not be allowed to sign a replacement.

The now well-known Braithwaite case led the Spanish Football Federation to ask FIFA and the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) for permission to change their general regulations to prevent clubs from using this route again.