Sad Barca Goodbye for Claudio Bravo Against Betis but Ter Stegen Is the Future
Luis Enrique was genuinely upset. You could see it in his face and how his throat caught when he tried to answer the question he had been posed.
Said question concerned Claudio Bravo. Asked by journalist Pete Jenson what memories of the goalkeeper he would take with him and how integral the Chilean stopper was to the club's consecutive La Liga triumphs, the coach choked.
"That's a good question," he said, as he infrequently does, usually at enquiries that allow him to talk about what he wants to, rather than those that are trying to get to the bottom of club issues. But this time it genuinely was a good question and one which caught a chink in his armour.
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After thinking about it, he responded.
"I will answer that question when the facts change. I think the club will speak about this subject today [Saturday] and I will speak about it when the facts change. That's if they do."
It was a matter of seconds before they did. No sooner had the Asturian vacated his chair in the Ricard Maxenchs press room and headed off into the warm Barcelona night air after his team's 6-2 destruction of Real Betis, than sporting director Robert Fernandez broke the news we had been expecting for days and had pondered for months.
Stories in the Catalan media had persisted for months, saying new Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was interested in bringing one of Barcelona's two goalkeepers to the Etihad.
He wasn't keen on Joe Hart's style, preferring a goalkeeper that fits his philosophy of possession, i.e. someone who can play as a sweeper-keeper and is good with their feet.
Bravo, who has played that role for Barcelona successfully, to the extent that they have won the league in both his seasons here, as well as the Club World Cup in which he played, became the primary target as it became increasingly clear that the club were not going to let Marc-Andre ter Stegen depart.
Fernandez spoke to TV3 and the club's own television channel. He said:
"We have an agreement in principle with Manchester City for Claudio Bravo. We are waiting for events this week. We will open the door for Claudio when we sign another goalkeeper. We were talking about his contract renewal when City's offer arrived and the player told us that he wanted to think well about it, and evaluate other things. In the end we reached the principle of an agreement.
"
There is little doubt that Barcelona will sign a new goalkeeper shortly, with Ajax's Jasper Cillessen the chosen man. Per De Telegraaf, via Sport, he will be offered a five-year deal and the fee will be around €14 million.
Cillessen sat out Ajax's clash with Willem II on Saturday night so he could avoid getting injured before his big move.
With Ter Stegen still suffering a knee injury, Bravo did no such thing, playing in the opening game of Barcelona's La Liga season.
In terms of general performance, his side were sensational. Personal performance? Bravo will leave a little frustrated.
Against Sevilla in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Bravo had put in a sensational shift, dealing with everything the Andalusians threw at him, including saving Vicente Iborra's penalty.
In the clash with Sevilla's archrivals on Saturday, he will wonder if he could have done better with Ruben Castro's free-kick, which he reached but could not prevent from flying into the top corner.
The striker's second goal was harder to stop, dispatched into the far corner to provide Betis with a late consolation.
It was fitting in a way that Bravo was still here for this game. Thanks to a bizarre set-up in Spain, the league champions didn't receive their trophy for last season until minutes before this clash kicked off.
Bravo posed for photos on the pitch with his family before the game. They will be kept as mementos of a wonderful spell at Camp Nou.
Luis Enrique wanted to sign him from Real Sociedad two years ago, getting the nod from Andoni Zubizarreta who was the sporting director at the time, and extracted every drop of value out of the man they bought for €12 million.
Although the fee he will cost City has not been made official, Sport believe it will be around €25 million, which is more than double what they paid for him. Not bad business for a 33-year-old.
As difficult as it is to see Bravo depart, something had to give.
Ter Stegen has been pushing for more game time and there was a general feeling in the city that this was going to be his season and Bravo would lose the role he had maintained since he arrived, which was to be the goalkeeper in La Liga.
The cups were not enough for the German, and all his agitation has paid off. Barcelona have shown a lot of faith in him by allowing Bravo to leave, so now it is his time to repay them.
At 24, Ter Stegen could easily play for the club for the next decade, barring injury. And if Bravo is good with his feet, then Ter Stegen is good enough to be an outfield player.
The deal suits everybody apart from Manchester City’s current goalkeepers Hart and Willy Caballero.
Barcelona get paid out and can end a situation that has caused some controversy. Bravo gets to be first choice and not have to battle so much, and gets to experience the Champions League again. Not to mention an expected salary bump.
Ter Stegen gets what he’s been plugging away for and Barcelona can give the stopper the game time he needs to keep developing—and he is doing so at a frightening rate. This is the first step to the next version of this Barcelona side.
After all, that’s what this summer was about. Signing Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes—all 22 when they joined—is about safeguarding the future. And goal guardian Ter Stegen is also part of that.
The plan was always for him to replace Bravo, given they were signed at the same time and he is considerably younger than the Chilean. Perhaps it’s happening one season earlier than expected.
And certainly one season earlier than Luis Enrique would have liked.
Bravo never let him down. And as the coach mulled over that question, you could see the affection he has for Bravo etched on his face. And it’s not normally a face that gives much away.
Rik Sharma is Bleacher Report's lead Barcelona correspondent. All information and quotes obtained first-hand unless specified. Follow him on Twitter here: @riksharma_
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