Ter Stegen loaned to Ajax after injury nightmare, eyes Germany return under Klopp

The loan move

Ajax and Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that Marc-André ter Stegen will spend the 2026-27 season on loan in Amsterdam. The 34-year-old goalkeeper, under contract at Camp Nou until 2028, arrives without a purchase option being specified by either club. Barcelona will cover roughly 90% of his salary, according to Het Parool. Ter Stegen had been with the Catalan squad on a pre-season camp in Birmingham but pushed for the exit after losing his starting spot to Joan García, who was signed from Espanyol in the summer of 2025. Wojciech Szczesny serves as García's backup.

Injury struggles and lost place

A complete rupture of the right patellar tendon in September 2024 sidelined ter Stegen for almost eight months. He was loaned to Girona in January 2026 to regain match fitness, but a thigh injury in his second appearance limited him to minimal action. He did not play a single league match for Barcelona last season. The goalkeeper had been club captain at the start of the campaign, yet the series of setbacks pushed him down the pecking order. Since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, ter Stegen made 423 appearances for Barcelona, winning the 2015 Champions League and six or seven Spanish league titles, depending on the source.

National team ambitions

Ter Stegen has 44 caps for Germany but was omitted from the 2026 World Cup squad, where Manuel Neuer returned as first choice. Germany exited in the round of 32 against Paraguay. His last international appearance came in June 2025 at the Nations League finals. With Jürgen Klopp now in charge of the national team, ter Stegen sees Ajax as the platform to force his way back into contention. He told the club's media that he is fully fit and hopes to play every match this season.

Together, we want to bring Ajax back to the top. It's a club with enormous history, one that radiates strength. Not only in the Netherlands, but also internationally.

Ajax's rebuilding project

Ajax are trying to recover from a chaotic season that ended in fifth place in the Eredivisie. Technical director Jordi Cruijff has been assembling a revamped squad under new coach Míchel Sánchez, who previously worked with ter Stegen at Girona. The German is the second high-profile addition in a matter of days: Julian Brandt, 30, signed a three-year free-agent deal after his Borussia Dortmund contract expired. Ajax have also brought in Nigeria striker Tolu Arokodare on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers and paid just under €20 million to Al Hilal for Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo, who signed a five-year contract. The team is already competing in Conference League qualifying and hosts Shelbourne on Friday in a first-leg tie.

What they said

Ter Stegen consulted former Barcelona teammate Frenkie de Jong, an Ajax academy product, before making the move. He said De Jong had been honest about the club and that he felt in good hands. Cruijff described the signing as a direct upgrade and noted the two had known each other for a long time.

Marc has an outstanding track record, and his qualities are widely recognized. He is a direct reinforcement for our squad. Marc and I know each other well, and I look forward to working with him again. We have been working on his arrival for some time, so we are very happy that he has signed his contract and can start here.