Barcelona stripped Marc-Andre ter Stegen of the captaincy on Thursday as a feud escalated between the Germany goalkeeper and the club over his injury status amid the Catalans' attempts to register new signings.

Barca signed 24-year-old goalkeeper Joan Garcia from local rivals Espanyol last month, with the club likely expecting to sell Ter Stegen, 33, to make space in their wage bill for Garcia and Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford.

However, Ter Stegen had to have more surgery to finish repairing a multiple knee ligament tear sustained last season, closing the door for him to leave in the close-season transfer window and forcing Barca to try a different approach.

The club asked Ter Stegen to sign a long-term medical leave that would allow them to clear 80 per cent of his wages unt

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