Al-Ittihad 'make contact with Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen'

The Germany international has served as La Blaugrana's number one goalkeeper for almost a decade, joining in 2014 to succeed predecessors Claudio Bravo and Victor Valdes.

Ter Stegen has made a name for himself as one of the finest goalkeepers on the planet since joining La Blaugrana, and he is now just two appearances shy of reaching the 400 mark for the club.

From his first 398 matches in a Barca jersey, Ter Stegen has recorded 166 clean sheets, including nine shut-outs from 21 matches in 2023-24, often serving as captain in the absence of Sergi Roberto.

The former Borussia Monchengladbach man has won 16 major honours in a Barcelona jersey, including the Champions League, Club World Cup and five La Liga titles, and he penned a new long-term contract until 2028 last summer.

Ter Stegen is believed to be one of the few players at the club deemed untouchable by the Barca hierarchy, and his release clause was set at a staggering €500m (£427.9m) upon his renewal last year.

Nevertheless, journalist Matteo Moretto reports that Al-Ittihad could try their luck in the summer and have already touched base with the 31-year-old's camp to gauge his interest in a move to Saudi Arabia.

However, the Saudi Arabian champions have apparently not yet made contact with Barcelona to negotiate a fee, and there is no desire on the player's side to leave Camp Nou just yet.

Ter Stegen would undoubtedly be offered a more lucrative salary in Saudi Arabia, where he would reunite with former Barca teammate Franck Kessie, who currently dons the Al-Ahli shirt.

The 31-year-old is still believed to be comfortable in Barcelona, though, and the reigning La Liga champions have no plans to part ways with him, Gavi, Pedri or Ronald Araujo.

However, several other revered names could be at risk of the axe this summer, as Barcelona are once again under pressure to slash their wage bill by over £50m in time for the start of next season.

Jules Kounde and Raphinha are two players who could be moved on for a significant fee, while Frenkie de Jong's future continues to dominate the headlines amid persistent talk of interest from the Premier League.

It was claimed that the Dutchman had performed a U-turn on his transfer stance and would now be open to departing the club, rumours which he subsequently slammed as "lies".

Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso are both out of contract in June too, while it remains to be seen whether Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo's loan deals from Atletico Madrid and Manchester City respectively are made permanent.

Barcelona - who will also bid farewell to head coach Xavi at the end of the season - leapfrogged Girona into second place in the La Liga table by beating Getafe 4-0 on Saturday, and the Blaugrana resume their title defence away to Athletic Bilbao on March 3.