At FC Barcelona, there are issues that have dragged on over time and, far from being solved, have become entrenched. One of the most delicate ones directly affects the locker room.
It has a proper name and, despite being a historic figure at the club, the discomfort it generates among its own teammates is no longer hidden. The alarms have gone off again, this time they've done so loudly.
The statements by journalist Santi Jiménez, from the newspaper As, on the program El Larguero on Cadena SER, have opened Pandora's box. His words leave no room for doubt and have set off all the alarms in the culé environment.
"He bullied Szczesny"
Santi Jiménez didn't beat around the bush:
"He bullied Wojciech Szczesny and Iñaki Peña in an unacceptable way. In statements, he revealed that he only wanted to play again to go with Germany to the Nations League. He chose the moments of glory and avoided the difficult ones, something that's unacceptable for a captain."
The journalist was that blunt. He went further in his explanations:
"He's been out of the locker room for a long time. The players, they're indifferent. At the club, there are those who are in favor of taking away his captaincy.
It's considered that he hasn't behaved like a Barcelona captain. He's behaved very badly, and if it were up to high-ranking executives, they'd take away his armband."
The diagnosis is devastating. Jiménez not only hints that the German goalkeeper is completely out of the team's core group. He also points to a situation of rupture with his own teammates.
"He's not one of the most liked in the locker room. They're different generations, there are other groups.
He enters the locker room, he's the captain. But he's not an especially strong captain, nor is he supported and backed by the group," he concluded.
He added: "He showed up in Seville to lift the Copa del Rey, but he didn't travel to Milan. Koundé was also injured, but he did travel to support his teammates. But since there was no glory there, he didn't want to be present."
He also highlighted that "on the day LALIGA EA SPORTS was won, since he was angry, he sabotaged the speeches to the people who were waiting to hear from the stadium."
He concluded: "He's behaved like a little child and a baby." "The icing on the cake was making a statement before going into surgery, revealing how long he'd be out."
A wound that won't heal
Ter Stegen's relationship with Barça's locker room has been deteriorating for some time. There were already tensions during Leo Messi's era. Afterwards, other uncomfortable episodes followed, such as his quick recovery to be drafted with Germany right after a long injury.
The club didn't like that at all, as it felt that the national team was being prioritized over Barça.
Despite everything, he's still one of the captains. Only for the public. Inside the locker room, his figure is completely delegitimized and the fracture seems irreparable.
A farewell that's coming
Although his departure this summer is very complicated due to his high salary, the club isn't ruling out any option. His name has already been offered to several German clubs.
In recent hours, there's even been talk of a possible loan to Borussia Mönchengladbach, his original team. It would be a way to free up salary mass and gain internal peace of mind.
What is clear is that Barça can't look the other way. The Ter Stegen case is no longer just a sporting issue. It's a ticking time bomb in the final countdown.