Barcelona has given Marc-André ter Stegen the green light to join Ajax on loan, but the deal is stuck in the kind of bureaucratic limbo that makes accountants sweat. The holdup: tax complications and a disagreement over who foots the salary bill.
## What’s actually happening with the deal
Barcelona and Ajax reached a preliminary loan agreement before July 23, 2026. Ter Stegen, whose contract with Barcelona runs through 2028, would head to Amsterdam on a temporary basis.
Barcelona proposed covering the vast majority of ter Stegen’s wages, leaving Ajax responsible for roughly 10% of his salary. That works out to less than €2 million for the Dutch club.
Ter Stegen is currently reviewing the tax implications of the arrangement, which differ significantly between Spain and the Netherlands. Barcelona submitted a counter-offer between July 23 and 25 addressing these tax concerns, but as of late July, the goalkeeper hasn’t signed off.
