Barcelona captain wary of in-form Real Madrid star: “Can create something out of nothing”

As Barcelona prepare to host Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the 2023/24 season on Saturday, one of the club captains, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, has admitted that they will need to be wary of the threat posed by Jude Bellingham.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are neck-to-neck in the La Liga standings, with just a point separating the two teams.

And whoever wins the Clasico at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday could have an edge in the race for the league title.

Bellingham’s start has impressed Ter Stegen

With the match just a couple of days away, Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen has earmarked Jude Bellingham as a threat.

Speaking to TV3 (h/t Mundo Deportivo), the German international said: “He can create something out of nothing, we know that. He has plenty of goals for an inside player and he compensates a bit for the departure of Benzema.

“Despite being a completely different profile he generates a lot of danger when he steps into the box and he finishes very well.”

Ter Stegen insisted that Barça are in a good moment going into the Clasico, having strung together a run of positive results and hopes that they can come out on top on Saturday.

“Now we have some results that give us this peace of mind going into a Clasico, which is always important and obviously we want to win it. We are playing at home, we have our fans behind us and we want to win that game,” he stated.

“We are in a good moment, we want to take advantage of it.”

On injuries and captaincy

Heading into the game, Barcelona will be without the likes of Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde, and Pedri while doubts linger over the availability of Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong as well.

Admitting that the situation is far from ideal, Ter Stegen said: “In any team, this hurts. Maybe one or two of them will recover to help us in such a special and difficult game.”

Roberto’s unavailability means that Ter Stegen will be leading the team out against Real Madrid on Saturday, donning the captain’s armband.

“I feel very important at the club, in the team. It’s a big game that everyone wants to be involved in and I’m very excited about it all, it’s a pride to wear the armband,” he admitted, revealing his pride to be able to lead the team for such a high-profile match.