Debate at Barcelona over Ter Stegen's involvement against Celta Vigo

Marc-André ter Stegen wants to play in Vigo against Celta. He said as much at the end of the game against Mallorca, which saw him equal the record of 26 clean sheets in LaLiga that he now shares with Paco Liaño: "Now, the objective is to beat it. Once you're there, you have to attack it. It's not my mission, but that of the whole team."

Nobody will take the Zamora Trophy away from the German goalkeeper, a prize that he is guaranteed to win for the first time since he arrived at Barça. Nor will anyone take away the record he shares with Liaño, but defending Barça's goal in Vigo does have some risks, even if only in numerical terms.

Ter Stegen already holds the best Zamora record in history, with an average of 0.47 goals conceded per game, although he also shares this record with Paco Liaño and, in addition, with Jan Oblak. If he conceded a goal against Celta, he would not lose the trophy, but he would lose that honour.

But the prize is too big for Ter Stegen, who is not content to match his historical rivals, but wants to surpass them in both clean sheets and average goals conceded. Even at the risk of tarnishing his first LaLiga Goalkeeper of the Year award.

However, his starting place is not yet guaranteed. Xavi wants to have a chat with him before making a final decision. The first team has a rest day on Wednesday and will return to work on Thursday. It will be then that the coach will have a conversation with Ter Stegen to assess the pros and cons of his participation against Celta. 

Presumably, Marc-André will again ask to play in the starting line-up, although the final decision will be agreed between the two. It should not be forgotten that Iñaki Peña is waiting in the wings and that in this final stretch of the season he has played just 45 minutes despite the title being wrapped up weeks ago.