Barcelona recently completed the signing of Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who is expected to act as a backup for Marc-Andre ter Stegen. After losing both Victor Valdes and Freida Pinto last season, the club were in the market for two new goalkeepers. They did not waste any time in securing the first signing, Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The German came from Borussia Mönchengladbach and is expected to be the first choice for the club in the upcoming la Liga season. There was speculation that Barcelona would promote a player from the youth ranks in order to act as a backup.

This has not happened after they decided to go in for the experienced Bravo. The Chile goalkeeper has been impressive at the World Cup 2014 and helped his team qualify for the last 16 of the competition. At 31, he provides a wealth of experience – especially of playing in the Spanish league. He has been with Real Sociedad since 2006. During this period, he has made more than 200 appearances for the Spanish outfit. An experienced campaigner for the Chilean national team, he has made 82 appearances for the Latin American team.

Bravo has said in his first interview as Barcelona player that this move is a major step in his career. He hopes to be competing for a regular first-team spot in the coming campaign. “This is a huge step in my career. I am relaxed and focused on my main objective at the moment, which is the World Cup with Chile. But this is something really important for me. It is difficult to earn a move abroad and even more so to a club like Barcelona, so it fills me with pride. I’m relaxed. But these things help boost confidence ahead of what is an important game for me and for the team [against Brazil],” said Bravo.