Marc-André ter Stegen reacted to Manuel Neuer's resignation with the respect Germany's longtime first-choice goalkeeper was due.

"Forever a world champion and a legend in German football" the 32-year-old wrote on Instagram.

He posted a picture of Neuer holding up the World Cup in the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 2014. What ter Stegen didn't mention, was how relieved he may have been personally.

For years, Barcelona's No. 1 goalkeeper had endured the role of No. 2 in the Germany setup without complaint. Even when national team coach Julian Nagelsmann gave Neuer the nod this summer's Euros, ter Stegen took it in his stride. Now, after what for him must have seemed like an eternity, he is the presumed new No. 1.

Roots in Mönchengladbach

Ter Stegen came up through his hometown club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, spending 13 years in their academy before signing his first professional contract there in 2009, at the age of 17. Two years later, then-coach Lucien Favre gave him the No. 1 job in the Bundesliga team. He would stay there until leaving for Barcelona in the summer of 2014.

"He's an outstanding goalkeeper, you could see that in his first training session," Favre would later say. "If you can't see that, you must be blind."

Barcelona's goalkeeping legend and then-sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta played a key role in ter Stegen's decision to move to Spain.

"He explained to me what it meant to be a Barca goalkeeper, the history of the club and what they would expect from me," ter Stegen said.

"He convinced me – with words and emotion."

However, the German's start at Barca wasn't as straightforward as he would have hoped, as the Catalans signed Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo the same summer. While Bravo started in all league matches, ter Stegen was only allowed to play in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

'I thought about leaving'

"I won't deny that there were moments when I thought about a change and looked for solutions," ter Stegen told the Spanish sports magazine Club del Deportista.

In the end, he stayed put and his patience was rewarded as the then-24-year-old inherited the No. 1 job when Bravo moved to Manchester City.

Since then, ter Stegen has won five La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey five times, the Club World Cup and a Champions League title. In May, he played his 411th game for Barcelona, overtaking Zubizarreta (410 games). Only Victor Valdes (535) has more games in the Barca goal to his name.

Ter Stegen was voted Spain's Player of the Year in the 2022-23 season and was named Barcelona's captain just a few days ago.

Germany's eternal No. 2

He also had a bumpy start with the national team, making his debut ahead of Euro 2012, conceding five against Switzerland in May of that year.

This was followed by a 3-1 defeat to Argentina and a 4-3 loss to the United States. In his first three matches for Germany, he had conceded 12 goals, on several of which he was at fault. As a result, Ter Stegen did not make the 2012 European Championship squad.

He was also left out of the 2014 World Cup, when Ron-Robert Zieler and Roman Weidenfeller were Manuel Neuer's understudies.

After that, ter Stegen fought his way back into the squad, being included for all major tournaments except Euro 2021, when he was ruled out by a knee injury. 

But there was simply no getting past Neuer. Ter Stegen's time seemed to have come when Germany suffered another early exit from a World Cup, this time in Qatar late 2022. Then Neuer sustained a fractured tibia and fibula while skiing during vacation a few weeks later.

Ter Stegen took the No. 1 job in the national team for almost a year and a half. However, at Euro 2024, Germany coach Julain Nagelsmann opted for Neuer, despite the fact that he had been by no means flawless for the previous few months.

It was a controversial decision and another slap in the face for ter Stegen, who had been in fine form between the sticks. Some, such as former Bayern and Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, questioned the move.

"He (ter Stegen) has been consistent in his performance, and the national team's last few tournaments were not successful," Kahn said. "Nor does Manuel Neuer look stable at the moment."

'World-class goalkeeper'

With Neuer no longer in the way, it appears that ter Stegen's time as Germany's No. 1 has arrived.  Coach Nagelsmann and the German FA's sporting director, Rudi Völler are full of praise for the now 32-year-old, with both describing him as a "world-class goalkeeper."

Former Germany midfielder-turned-pundit Lothar Matthäus concurs.

"Based on his performances, he deserves to take over from Manuel Neuer now," Germany's most capped player (150 appearances) told the DPA news agency.

"Marc-Andre ter Stegen has waited long enough."

This article was originally published in German.