Ter Stegen Set for Ajax Loan as Barcelona Clear Wage Burden

FC Barcelona and Ajax have reached a verbal agreement to send Marc-Andre ter Stegen to Amsterdam on loan for the 2026-27 season, The Athletic has reported, with sources close to the situation confirming the 34-year-old is keen on the move. Final details remain to be formalised: ter Stegen, whose contract runs until 2028 and whose salary includes deferrals from previous seasons, is set to leave the Blaugranes on a temporary basis, with Barcelona expected to continue covering the majority of his wages given Ajax can only absorb a relatively small share.

The goalkeeper has no place in Hansi Flick’s plans, with Joan Garcia established as first choice and Wojciech Szczesny having signed a two-year contract extension in July 2025 after his emergency return to cover ter Stegen’s patella tendon rupture in September 2024. That injury sidelined ter Stegen for more than seven months. He then sustained a back injury requiring surgery in the summer that followed, and a hamstring problem in January 2026 restricted him to just two appearances at Girona – where he was on loan for the second half of last season – plus a Copa del Rey fixture against C.D. Guadalajara for Barcelona proper.

Ajax submitted a formal offer to Barcelona, which the Catalan club acknowledged, with negotiations centred on the financial structure of the deal. Salary distribution has been a key issue in discussions, given ter Stegen’s elevated salary – inflated by historic deferrals – and Ajax’s ability to cover only a relatively small portion of those wages, requiring Barcelona to shoulder most of the burden. The Eredivisie club, which finished fifth last season and faces three Conference League qualifying rounds beginning July 23, was pushing to resolve the structure quickly given the pressure of an early competitive schedule.

A specific draw for ter Stegen is Ajax head coach Míchel Sánchez, according to Mundo Deportivo. The Spanish manager worked with the goalkeeper during those two appearances at Girona before the hamstring injury struck, and is reportedly eager to build ter Stegen into a dressing-room leader in Amsterdam. Sporting director Jordi Cruyff’s project at the club, and the proximity of the Netherlands to ter Stegen’s two children based in Catalonia, added further appeal to a move that is expected to provide him with regular first-team football in a possession-based style well suited to his strengths with the ball.

Ter Stegen joined Barcelona from Borussia Mönchengladbach in July 2014 and has made 423 appearances for the club, winning seven La Liga titles, the Champions League, and six Copa del Rey trophies across his 12 years at Camp Nou. He succeeded Gerard Piqué as captain in October 2022, though the captaincy was temporarily stripped in August 2025 amid an argument centred on his back injury, during which he initially did not sign a medical document that would have allowed Barcelona to register a replacement player. He signed the document a day later and his captaincy was reinstated. With a verbal agreement now in place, the deal is considered close, subject to the remaining financial details being agreed upon by both clubs.

For Barcelona, the move clears a significant wage commitment from the books on a temporary basis and removes an awkward squad dynamic given ter Stegen’s seniority, his injury record, and his total absence from Flick’s plans. His contract runs until 2028, and how his situation at the club develops beyond the loan will depend on what follows in Amsterdam.