Revealed: Marc-Andre ter Stegen brutally rejected West Ham offer as Barcelona goalkeeper finally picks new club

Ter Stegen technically remains Barcelona's captain, but he is close to leaving after becoming surplus to requirement. The club made a huge financial effort to win the race for Espanyol goalkeeper Garcia last summer, and after missing much of this season already through injury, Ter Stegen is utilising the January window to secure a move away and increase his playing time ahead of Germany's World Cup 2026 campaign.

According to talkSPORT, one of the clubs who showed an interest in Ter Stegen this month were West Ham. The Hammers signed Mads Hermansen from Leicester City last summer, but he started only four Premier League games before being dropped for predecessor Alphonse Areola. Amid this uncertainty between the sticks and their ongoing battle against relegation, West Ham reached out to gauge Ter Stegen's interest in a loan move, but found he was not considering swapping Spain for England.

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Instead, Ter Stegen is closing in on a loan move to Barcelona's Catalan neighbours Girona, who currently sit ninth in La Liga. Reports in Spain suggest the 33-year-old will give up a significant portion of his hefty wage packet in order to get the deal over the line, with Barca also agreeing to pay the majority of his salary even while he's at another club.

Ter Stegen is hoping to be Germany's starting goalkeeper at this summer's World Cup following the international retirement of Manuel Neuer, and head coach Julian Nagelsmann has already stated he will not call on players if they are not starting regularly at club level. Even since returning from injury last month, Ter Stegen has found himself on the Barcelona bench, including for their 2-0 win away at Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey, during which starter Garcia made several fine saves to keep his side afloat.

Though this switch to Girona isn't permanent, this is still likely to signal the end of Ter Stegen's Barcelona career. He's made 423 appearances for the club and won 19 trophies, including their last Champions League back in 2015.

Ter Stegen should immediately become Girona's No.1 goalkeeper ahead of Croatian legend Dominik Livakovic and ex-Tottenham star Paulo Gazzaniga, with the Spanish side looking to qualify for Europe after their one-season jaunt in the Champions League.

Barcelona, meanwhile, can open up a four-point gap at the top of La Liga on Sunday when they travel to Real Sociedad. Real Madrid reduced that deficit to one point with a 2-0 victory against Levante on Saturday, during which many of their star players were booed and jeered following their Supercopa de Espana loss to Barca and the subsequent shock sacking of Xabi Alonso.

As for West Ham, they are still looking for further January reinforcements as they look to beat the Premier League drop. They are now five points from safety after beating rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, while 17th-place Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 with Arsenal.