Ter Stegen's divorce

It was written all over the map that Ter Stegen's story wouldn't end well. Building on the conditional is risky. Too many pieces needed to fall into place to bring a harmonious end to the love story between the German goalkeeper and Barça . On paper, the story was as perfect as the milkmaid's. We signed Joan Garcia to fill the starting goalkeeper spot, and Ter Stegen will calmly note that his time at Barça is over. But since he won't want to jeopardize his participation in next summer's World Cup in the US, he'll happily accept an offer from any other club that guarantees him a game every week. Everyone is happy and ready to eat their fill: Barça, Ter Stegen, and Joan Garcia.

It's a shame that reality, always tangible unlike fantasy, has insisted on screwing things up. In the end, the story resembles that of a marriage in which the spouse who has decided to end the relationship by running off with someone younger expects the other to take it well and agree to the unilateral divorce conditions offered: "Sign here, darling, it's for your own good. You're old enough, and this is what suits you."

The fan can accuse the German goalkeeper of being a scoundrel, but that doesn't make him one.

At this point, Ter Stegen has done what anyone would do—saints aside—when the principle of loyalty is betrayed by the other party: look out for their own interests. And it turns out these didn't coincide with the cartoonish fantasy the Blaugrana board had nurtured in their heads. The club assumed a civilized divorce in which both parties sang Rocío Jurado's song in chorus: "Our love of such greatness has broken. Such beauty could never have existed. Such beautiful things don't last long. A flower never lasted two springs." As if both—club and player—had arrived at the same place at the same time: the acceptance that the story between them was no longer lasting. The club forgot that in heartbreak, there is often someone who leaves and someone who is left. And the latter's reaction is impossible to predict.

Blaugrana fans may be angry with the German goalkeeper. They may accuse him of not bending to the club's interests to the detriment of his own. Accusing him of being a scoundrel doesn't make him one in the least. Ter Stegen has simply stood up for what he believes is best for him, and no one should be surprised by that. Ultimately, it's no different than what Barça did when, to protect their own interests, they rushed to the market to sign Joan Garcia.

And now? Well, it's the same old story. Divorces, when love is over, are just a matter of time and money. Except some are more expensive and time-consuming than one might initially imagine.