Spanish media: Ter Stegen did not participate in Barcelona s first-day training, and the two sides may have a long tug-of-war this summer

German goalkeeper Mark Andre Terstegen did not appear on the training ground on the first day of training, but stayed in the gym. His situation seems to be moving in a dangerous direction, showing a trend of complexity.

Terstegen became the focus during his first training. Instead of appearing at the No. 1 venue in Sports City like other teammates, he performed personal training in the gym. The club issued a brief statement saying the captain was "in the gym alone to perform physical training and separate from the team."

Normally, this situation does not attract too much attention or be seen as big news, but given the current context – the club tried to find a way out for Ter Stegen after signing Joan Garcia and last week’s meeting between Ter Stegen and head coach Hansey Flick, the two sides confirmed their differences – the German international’s choice not to participate in the field training seems to mark the beginning of a tug-of-war, with the ending currently unpredictable.

Obviously, the club cannot maintain the situation of four goalkeepers in the team, so at present, Ter Stegen and Inijaki Penia have been excluded from the coaching staff, and favor Joan Garcia, who paid 25 million euros in liquidated damages this summer, and Voyceh Szczesni, who renewed his contract until 2027. However, throughout, Ter Stegen made it clear that he wanted to stay on the team and compete with other goalkeepers for the starting position, although Flick had informed him that he would start as a third goalkeeper.

It seems that there will be many chapters to be continued in this summer transfer drama, but obviously the first act has placed the goalkeeper outside of the team's regular training.

The rest of the players participated in the training normally, including injured Mark Bernard and Gerald Martin, who were also present, although the training was very intense that day and focused on physical fitness. The team arranged a double training session on Tuesday, the first of three training sessions this week, and there will be no rest days during this period. It is worth mentioning that on July 24, the team will set off to Japan to start the Asian Tour. As for whether Ter Stegen is included, we need to wait and see.