Marc-Andre ter Stegen Reveals Moment When He Considered Leaving Barcelona

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has admitted that he considered leaving Camp Nou after largely playing second fiddle to Claudio Bravo for his first two seasons in Catalonia.

Barça signed both Bravo and Ter Stegen in the summer of 2014 to replace the departed Victor Valdes. However, while the German got the nod in the Champions League and Copa del Rey, it was the Chilean who has playing every week in La Liga.

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From being an ever-present with Borussia Monchengladbach, Ter Stegen played just seven leagues in two years after moving to Spain.

"It was a situation that cannot be forgotten," the 26-year-old recalled in a new magazine interview published by Marca.

"As a person who wants to play every game, like me, it was a very complicated situation, and the competition with Claudio was not easy," he added.

"I'm not going to deny that there were times when I was thinking about changing, looking for solutions, because you see that the club says: 'Do not worry, Marc, you have all our confidence, you are here for many years, we trust in your performance'.

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"But then you see that the reality was not like that," Ter Stegen continued.

"With Luis Enrique he talked a lot about it, but of course he saw that Claudio was doing a very good job, and after two seasons the situation demanded a solution."

That 'solution' eventually came in 2016 when Bravo was sold to Manchester City, finally giving Ter Stegen the opportunity he had been craving. He immediately became the club's La Liga starter, relinquishing his Copa del Rey game, but continuing in the Champions League.

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He has missed just three La Liga games since and has now established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, proving that his patience, despite the frustration, was a virtue.