Marc-André ter Stegen’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Club career

Mönchengladbach

2010–11 season

Born in Mönchengladbach, ter Stegen began his career at hometown team Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the first half of the 2010–11 season, he established himself as the star of their reserve team and was frequently seen on the first-team bench. Whilst he was enjoying a relatively successful season, the same could not be said for his first-team colleagues. Mönchengladbach’s senior side were seemingly failing in their efforts to avoid relegation, and on 14 February 2011, manager Michael Frontzeck was replaced by Lucien Favre, with the team rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga, having accumulated only 16 points after 22 match days.

Results soon improved, but the erratic form of first-choice goalkeeper Logan Bailly held the team back. Whilst he was able to produce match-winning performances such as the one against Werder Bremen, these were few and far between, and were frequently cancelled out by uninspiring matches. The fans of Mönchengladbach were quick to discredit the Belgian international, with some accusing him of putting more effort into his modelling career than his football. Ter Stegen’s progress for the reserve team had not gone unnoticed by the supporters, and the new manager was inundated with demands to start the young prodigy in the league. Favre eventually lost patience with Bailly, and on 10 April 2011, relegated him to the bench in favour of ter Stegen for the match against 1. FC Köln. The young German did not disappoint, and the defence boasted a previously unseen solidity. He kept his place in the team for the remainder of the season, keeping four clean-sheets out of a possible five in the last five matchdays as Mönchengladbach avoided relegation via the playoffs. During this run, he shot to prominence with a last-man-standing display against eventual champions Borussia Dortmund, making a string of world-class saves as Mönchengladbach secured a famous 1–0 victory.

2011–12 season

Ter Stegen’s status as first-choice goalkeeper was cemented when Bailly was sent on loan to Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax and the no.1 shirt delegated to ter Stegen, who had previously worn 21.

During the summer transfer window, Bayern Munich had succeeded in their drawn-out pursuit of Schalke 04’s captain Manuel Neuer. The German international made his debut against ter Stegen’s Mönchengladbach at the Allianz Arena. The match did not go the way the pundits predicted, however, with ter Stegen producing yet another inspired display whilst his counterpart Neuer made the error that condemned Bayern to a 1–0 defeat. Following this match, Borussia Mönchengladbach embarked on an unlikely title challenge, with ter Stegen and fellow youngster Marco Reus providing the inspiration for Mönchengladbach.

2012–13 season

After the departures of Reus to Borussia Dortmund and Dante to Bayern Munich, ter Stegen emerged as Mönchengladbach’s main star for the season. He was again first-choice, and in February 2013, it was reported that ter Stegen signed a pre-agreement with La Liga club FC Barcelona. The deal was later denied by himself.

2013–14 season

After being strongly linked to Barcelona, ter Stegen remained at Mönchengladbach for the new season. On 6 January 2014, he rejected a new deal from the club, raising the speculation over his future. In the last home match of the season, a 3–1 home success against Mainz 05 on 5 May, ter Stegen sent a tearful goodbye to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Barcelona

2014–15 season

On 19 May 2014, ter Stegen was announced as the new goalkeeper of Spanish club Barcelona, after the departures of Víctor Valdés and José Manuel Pinto, effective during the summer transfer window. On 22 May 2014, he signed a five-year contract that would keep him at the club until June 2019. The transfer fee was €12 million (£9.7 million), and the buy-out clause was set to €80 million (£63.6 million). After the move, ter Stegen said joining the club was the right move and that he aimed to settle at the club. Days after signing for Barcelona, Ter Stegen was unveiled at the stadium of Camp Nou and dismissed his comparison to Valdés, insisting “I am who I am and that’s that”.

Ter Stegen would suffer an injury prior to the first league match of the season. Due to this injury, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique made Claudio Bravo the starting league goalkeeper, where he would go on to win the Zamora Trophy. Ter Stegen however, was made the first choice goalkeeper in both the Copa del Rey and in the UEFA Champions League. He made his debut in the latter tournament on 17 September, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 home win over APOEL. He helped Barcelona win the final of the domestic cup in his first season, a 3–1 victory against Athletic Bilbao on 30 May 2015. A week later he played in the Champions League Final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a 3–1 win over Juventus. Nonetheless, he did not play at all in the team’s victorious league campaign. But he made significant contributions in the Copa del Rey and in the UEFA Champions League. He won the “Best Save” award for his spectacular “goal-line” save vs Bayern Munich, in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final.

2015–16 season

His second season opened with victory in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla FC in Tbilisi on 11 August. Having led 4–1, he then conceded three more goals to send the match into extra time, in which Barcelona won 5–4. He made his La Liga debut on 12 September 2015 in a match against Atlético Madrid which Barcelona won 2–1.

In March 2016, ter Stegen said on the subject of Luis Enrique’s rotation policy “In the long run, these 25 games per season are not enough for me. The decision is made by the coach. I hope that the quality I’ve shown recently is rewarded.”

2016–17 season

Ter Stegen picked up injuries at the start of the season due to which he missed the Supercopa de España and league matches. He became Barcelona’s first choice goalkeeper after Claudio Bravo left for Manchester City on 25 August 2016. On 13 September 2016, ter Stegen gave away and saved a penalty from Moussa Dembélé which kept the score 1–0 and which Barcelona eventually won 7–0 against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League. On 2 October 2016, ter Stegen gave in a poor performance by making two mistakes which cost Barcelona the match, as they eventually went on to lose 4–3 against Celta de Vigo. He later apologised and said that he would not change his playing style. He later received good reviews for his role in the 6–1 Barcelona comeback in Champions league for receiving a crucial foul from Marco Verratti in the opposition half which led to the crucial 94th minute winner that kept Barcelona in the hunt for UCL by making them enter the quarter-finals. Ter stegen proved to be even more decisive in the second El Clásico that year by making a staggering eleven saves to restrict Real Madrid to a defeat and kept Barcelona in the race for La Liga with three points adrift of Real Madrid.

2017–18 season

On 29 May 2017, ter Stegen signed a new contract with Barcelona, keeping him at the club until 2022, with his buyout clause raised to €180 million.

International career

In 2009, he participated on the winning team of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Ter Stegen was rewarded for his performances by Joachim Löw, who called him up to Germany’s provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He made his debut on 26 May 2012, in the 5–3 loss against Switzerland in a friendly match, but did not make the final cut for the tournament. He stopped a penalty from Lionel Messi in his second international match in a 1–3 loss against Argentina on 15 August, immediately after coming on following Ron-Robert Zieler’s sending off. He was called up to Germany’s tour of the United States in mid-2013. On 2 June, against the United States, he failed to control the ball after a back pass from Benedikt Höwedes, to concede an own goal. The match ended 4–3 to the United States. In the first three matches that he played for Germany the team never won and they conceded 12 goals. His first clean sheet for his country came in a friendly against Poland in Hamburg, coming on at half time for Zieler in a scoreless draw on 13 May 2014.

On 27 June 2015, he conceded five goals in Germany U21’s match against Portugal U21 in the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Czech Republic.

Ter Stegen was selected by German national team manager Joachim Löw to be part of his Euro 2016 squad.

He started all the matches, beside the first group-stage match, when Germany won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. For his performance in the final, against Chile, he was named Man of the Match.

Career statistics

Club

As of 12 September 2017

Notes

International

As of 4 September 2017

Honours

Club

Barcelona

• La Liga: 2014–15, 2015–16
• Copa del Rey: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
• Supercopa de España: 2016
• UEFA Champions League: 2014–15
• UEFA Super Cup: 2015
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2015

International

Germany

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2009
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2017

Individual

• UEFA Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2009
• Fritz Walter Medal: U17 Bronze Medal 2009
• Fritz Walter Medal: U19 Gold Medal 2011
• kicker Bundesliga Goalkeeper of the Season: 2011–12
• UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2014–15
• UEFA Save of the Season: 2014–15
• FIFA Confederations Cup Final Man of the Match: 2017