The 22 Mystery: Why Ter Stegen Wears an Odd Number on His Girona Loan
27 January 2026
Key moment and jersey mystery
German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen began his loan spell with Girona in style, helping the Catalan club secure a precious point against Getafe in La Liga on Monday night.
On loan from Barcelona, Ter Stegen was the standout player, especially after a decisive save in the 96th minute that earned a point for his side, but his unusual squad number 22 drew a lot of attention.
Numbers, rules, and the quirky solution
According to Marca, the Spanish football federation rules for the first and second divisions require first‑team goalkeepers to wear numbers 1, 13 or 25.
These numbers are reserved for goalkeepers and fall within the 1 to 25 range that first‑team players in both divisions must use during the season.
The exception is a rare case like Girona, which currently has four goalkeepers registered to the first team.
Dominik Livakovic wears the number 1, Paulo Gazzaniga wears 13, and Vladislav Kravitsov wears 25, so Ter Stegen had to take a different digit.
The problem is heightened when, as in Girona's situation, all 25 squad numbers are taken and shirts are fully booked.
With Jon Solís leaving for Birmingham City, 22 became the only available shirt number when Ter Stegen completed his loan.
The Spanish League and the Spanish Football Federation deemed this number appropriate for a goalkeeper.
It would have been different if the only available number had been one of the traditional outfield digits 2 through 11, which would have created a unique Spanish football scenario.
In Girona's case, Solís's exit opened 22, the only unassigned number, making the loan possible.
This quirky numerical tale shows that even in La Liga, digits can matter—and a little humor never hurts on the bench.
Punchline 1: If numbers were fashion, 22 would be the goalkeeper's little black dress.
Punchline 2: If you can't find a number, invent one—unless you're the ref, in which case you already did.
