����ֱ��

MADRID: Barcelona say Marc-Andre ter Stegen will return as first-team captain after announcing on Friday that the goalkeeper had authorized the club to send his medical report to the Spanish league.

The announcement came as Ter Stegen talked of how “especially difficult” the past few months have been, and he criticized suggestions he was to blame for Barcelona’s inability to register new players, insisting that his back surgery and recovery timeline were fully approved by the club.

The disagreement led to the 33-year-old Ter Stegen being stripped of the club’s captaincy on Thursday. But that changed Friday.

“The club announces that the player Marc-Andre ter Stegen has signed the authorization necessary for the club to send La Liga the medical report relating to his surgery,” Barcelona said in a statement. “The disciplinary case has been closed and the player is captain of the first team once again with immediate effect.”

The club had opened a disciplinary proceeding against the goalkeeper on Tuesday after discrepancies about the recovery time for the lower back surgery that Ter Stegen successfully underwent last week.

Barcelona needed him to sign the injury report so it could be sent to the Spanish league in order to clear some salary-cap space and allow the club to more easily register other players without breaching financial fair play rules.

“These past few months have been especially difficult for me, both physically and personally,” Ter Stegen said in a statement on social media. “Like any player, after suffering an injury, my only priority has always been to return to the field as soon as possible, motivated solely by the desire to help the team and do what I love most: compete.”

He added that “completely unfounded” things were said about him in recent weeks, so he felt it was “necessary to express my version of events with respect, but also with clarity.”

“The decision to undergo surgery was made after consulting with medical professionals and was fully approved by the club,” he said. “I publicly announced the estimated recovery period, which was given to me by top medical experts and always in coordination with the club.”

Ter Stegen said ahead of the surgery that the recovery time would be about three months. The club did not give an official timetable for the recovery process, saying only that the operation was “successful” and that “his recovery will determine when he can return.”

“At no point could I have thought that my unfortunate situation — having to undergo another operation — was necessary to register other teammates whom I deeply respect and am looking forward to sharing the locker room with for many seasons,” he said. “Any other interpretation seems to me both unfair and inaccurate.”

The club signed Espanyol goalkeeper Joan García in June. Their other goalkeepers are veteran Wojciech Szczęsny and Iñaki Peña.

“Throughout my career, I have always tried to conduct myself with professionalism, respect, and commitment to the crests I’ve represented,” he said. “I have deep affection for FC Barcelona, this city, and its people, who have supported me over so many years. My commitment to these colors remains absolute.”

Ter Stegen missed nearly all of last season because of a ruptured tendon in his knee, and in 2023 he missed about two months because of another back operation. Peña and the 35-year-old Szczęsny started in place of Ter Stegen last season.

Barcelona, the defending Spanish league champion, arrived back in Spain on Tuesday after completing a preseason tour in Asia. They will face Italian club Como in their final preseason match on Sunday in Barcelona. Their league debut is at Mallorca next Saturday.

RIYADH: Swiss football sensation Alisha Lehmann, known for her electrifying presence on the pitch and her massive social media following, has made a visit to the Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, ����ֱ��.

Lehmann’s journey into the world’s biggest celebration of esports and gaming culture revealed a world that both surprised and resonated deeply with the superstar professional athlete.

Her first taste of the Esports World Cup 2025 was the highly competitive League of Legends final, an experience that left a lasting impression. “I was able to watch the League of Legends final and I was surprised by the atmosphere and passion in the arena,” she said.

“I enjoyed the crowds’ reaction to a tight game; it was a great experience. The stadium is full, there are so many people cheering for the players and you can see how much effort the players put in to get where they are now. It’s amazing. I would tell everyone to come here to experience it and enjoy it.”

This immediate connection to the energy of esports fans highlighted a striking parallel to the intensity she knows well from her experience performing in the world’s leading football stadiums and deepened her appreciation for esports.

The parallels between her world on the football pitch and the virtual battlegrounds of esports are evident to Lehmann. “I started playing from six years old. It doesn’t matter if it’s a racing game or a football game, the experiences are linked because we grow up with the same mindset and we want to win.”

When not on the football pitch, Lehmann likes to play Fortnite and appreciates the innate talent of young gamers, noting how young people possess skills that were unimaginable when she was their age.

“All children and young kids love to play games,” she says. “Sometimes I’ve noticed when I’m playing Fortnite that there are kids that are like 10 years old, and I’m watching them and I’m amazed.

“I think esports is growing every year now. Everyone is watching it, the technology is constantly improving and the games are getting better, I feel that it’s becoming really big.”

As esports continue to grow and connect with a global audience, Lehmann firmly believes that esports will continue to expand its global appeal and become mainstream entertainment for fans around the world.

“I think esports will catch up with traditional sports for sure. Because the technology is constantly evolving and the whole industry is really cool,” she said.

“It’s amazing. I think you can also learn a lot. I know kids in Switzerland who speak English now because they play Fortnite and watch streamers. It’s great to see.”

The growth of women’s participation in both football and esports is a topic close to Lehmann’s heart. Witnessing Team Vitality win the MLBB Women’s Invitational tournament at the Esports World Cup 2025 filled her with pride, and she hopes that female participation in esports and sports continues to thrive.

“I think it’s so good that we push women to compete at the highest levels of sport,” she said. “It’s essential because they are as important as the men and we want to see them shine too.”

When asked to create the line-up for her dream EA Sports FC team, Lehmann was keen to select a starting eleven that represented elite talent from women’s and men’s football.

“Of course I would take Hannah Hampton as a goalkeeper, she’s been amazing in the Euros, I played with her and she does really well,” Lehmann said. “For right back, I’ll take Trent Alexander-Arnold. For center back, I’m going to take Millie Bright and Leah Williamson. For left back, Lucas Hernandez. In midfield, my number 6 would be Alexia Putellas, then Jude Bellingham, and Lionel Messi. Up front it would be Killian Mbappe on the right, Erling Haaland as striker, and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left.”

Gathering the world’s elite players under one competitive banner, the EA Sports FC Pro 25 World Championship tournament is underway at the Esports World Cup 2025 from Aug. 7-10.

More details and tickets, including access to all tournament days and festival experiences, are available at . 

Esports World Cup 2025 concludes with the New Global Sport Conference, the leading B2B platform for decision-makers across gaming, esports, sport and entertainment. Held at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh from Aug. 23-24, NGSC 2025 aims to foster dialogue, drive collaboration and shape the future of competitive entertainment.