Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will become one of the club’s highest earners after agreeing a new long-term contract through to 2025, report ESPN.
It is said that the German’s importance to the team will be reflected in his new deal with a substantial wage increase agreed with the club to make him one of the highest earners at the Camp Nou.
It follows a report in Diario Sport that a deal was agreed and would be announced next week by the club
It is said by the report that talks between the two have been tough and intense, but the deal was a priority of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu before his mandate ends early next year.
As per a report last week in Diario AS, Ter Stegen will be the first ‘Mirotic type’ renovation at the club – meaning he will accept an initial pay cut before eventually earning more money over the duration of his deal.
It has been reported previously that the player’s relationship with the club’s goalkeeping coach José Ramón de la Fuente is also said to be key in their intentions of tying him down, as the two are said to share a strong professional relationship.
The German goalkeeper’s current deal at the Camp Nou runs through until the summer of 2022, after he penned an extended contract in 2017 but contract talks have stalled amid the financial uncertainty following the coronavirus pandemic.
However, it is now reported that the Catalan giants have begun to accelerate the renewal talks in order to guarantee his commitment to the club for many years to come and rule out speculation of an exit.
Earlier this summer, Chelsea transfer news featured news of the Blues interest in the German and whilst it was an ‘ambitious dream’ of theirs, they were considering an approach which would include their number one Kepa Arrizabalaga as part of the deal – although that never materialised.
The 28-year-old has demonstrated he is one of football’s elite goalkeepers with a series of world-class performances for the Blaugrana, whom he joined from Borussia Mochengladbach in 2014 for €12m.
