Overview
- A loan that was widely reported as near completion has paused after reports said Ajax and Marc-André ter Stegen could not agree on personal terms, putting the move at risk.
- Barcelona is pressing to remove ter Stegen from its wage bill despite his contract running to 2028 and had reached club-to-club understandings with Ajax before personal and financial details stalled talks.
- The wage split is the central obstacle because media outlets report ter Stegen earns roughly €18 million a year and Ajax is unwilling to assume that level of pay without Barcelona or the player covering most of it.
- Sporting concerns sharpen the financial hesitancy since ter Stegen lost the Barcelona starting spot to Joan García, made only two appearances on a winter loan at Girona before another injury, and missed the World Cup.
- Ter Stegen remains training with Barcelona while talks continue and the deal could still collapse if no compromise on salary sharing and personal terms is reached, a development that would force Barcelona to seek other solutions to cut its wage bill.