Marc-André ter Stegen has found a new home in the world of sports. The former captain of FC Barcelona is leaving Catalonia to give his career a fresh start at Ajax Amsterdam.
Marc-André ter Stegen was originally supposed to be Germany’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. But because injuries have plagued the 44-time national team goalkeeper in recent months, ter Stegen instead had enough time to sort out his personal future.
It is now clear where that future lies, at least for the upcoming season: Ter Stegen is leaving FC Barcelona once again and joining Ajax Amsterdam on a one-year loan, with Spanish media reports indicating that Ajax will cover only about ten percent of his salary. At the struggling Eredivisie giant—which finished last season in a highly disappointing fifth place, 28 points (!) behind champion PSV Eindhoven—ter Stegen hopes to give his career new momentum.
“Marc can look back on an outstanding career, and his qualities are widely recognized,” Ajax technical director Jordi Cruyff is quoted as saying: “He’s an immediate boost to our squad. Marc and I know each other well, and I’m looking forward to working with him again. We’ve been working on bringing him here for quite some time, so we’re very happy that he’s signed his contract and can now get started.”
The move to the Netherlands takes on special significance because ter Stegen will once again be reunited with coach Michel in Amsterdam. Under Michel, ter Stegen had started twice in goal following his loan to FC Girona last January, before the German national team goalkeeper suffered another serious injury.
Michel had overseen the project in Girona for a total of five years before the once-successful run—which even included qualifying for the Champions League—ended in late May with relegation from Spain’s top flight. In Amsterdam, where the team could still qualify for the Conference League via the playoffs, the 50-year-old was offered a two-year contract shortly thereafter, running through June 30, 2028.
For his first season at Ajax, he was determined to sign ter Stegen and went all out to make it happen. Because the transfer dragged on and the desired reinforcement had even traveled to training camp with FC Barcelona, Michel said he reached out to his new goalkeeper “every day.”
Three goalkeepers took turns in goal at Ajax
Ter Stegen, who had no future left at Barcelona—at the latest with the arrival of Joan Garcia—is in Amsterdam for one year to start. Ajax had three goalkeepers between the posts last season: Czech Vitezslav Jaros (24) made 19 appearances, Maarten Paes (28) made 11, and veteran Remko Pasveer (42) made four. However, two of the trio are no longer with the club: Jaros’ loan from Liverpool FC ended in the summer, and Pasveer had already moved on to Heracles Almelo back in January.
Now, ter Stegen wants to earn the starting spot and regain his lost confidence. With his experience—including 423 competitive matches for Barcelona—and his undisputed qualities, the 34-year-old from Mönchengladbach is a source of hope for Ajax’s upcoming season. In Amsterdam, he’ll be reunited with his compatriot Julian Brandt, whose surprise move to the Netherlands was recently finalized.