The Catalan team is going through a positive period in terms of results, especially after Barcelona managed to return to the top of the La Liga table once again, on goal difference over runner-up Real Madrid.
According to information from the Spanish newspaper “El Nacional”, there is one player at Barcelona who expressed his great disappointment in the current situation in which he finds himself. This has prompted him to start considering his future options and has practically led him to decide to leave the club at the end of the current season.
The newspaper indicated that this player is Iñaki Peña, who feels very frustrated after losing his place as the team’s first-choice goalkeeper. He was given an exceptional opportunity after Marc-André ter Stegen’s serious knee injury, and he was able to take advantage of it to prove himself and improve his level after the disappointing performance he presented last season under Xavi Hernández. However, after arriving late to a meeting before the match against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final, he lost his place in the starting lineup and is no longer part of the coach’s plans.
This situation greatly angered Hansi Flick, who decided to punish him by making him a substitute. Wojciech Szczesny seems to have convinced the German coach with his performance during this period, as he demonstrated his great experience, and the statistics have been very positive, as the team has yet to suffer a defeat with Szczesny in goal. Therefore, Flick has no intention of making any further changes, and it is expected that the Polish goalkeeper will continue to protect the goal until the end of the season.
Iñaki Peña knows very well that he no longer has a chance to return to the starting lineup at Barcelona, especially with Hansi as coach, and will remain in a completely secondary role. This situation has led to the suspension of his negotiations with Joan Laporta and Deco regarding the extension of his contract, which expires in June 2026, increasing the possibility of his transfer to another team during the next summer transfer market.
Iñaki Peña believes that he deserved to be the first-choice goalkeeper, but this has become impossible under the current circumstances. Things will become more complicated if Ter Stegen returns to the pitch, and if a new goalkeeper is signed.
Iñaki’s situation has not gone unnoticed by several clubs, who have put his name on their agenda and are likely to start trying to sign him soon.