Barcelona's new move brings Ter Stegen closer to departure

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Highly sought after by Ajax

The proposed loan of Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen (34) to Ajax Amsterdam is back on track after days of uncertainty.

The German's failure to settle his tax obligations had stalled the deal completely. Barcelona have now stepped in with a fresh offer in the final hours to untangle the tax problem, and the player is studying it positively. It could yet clear the way for an agreement that looked done and dusted just ten days ago.

According to "Mundo Deportivo", the goalkeeper had not initially been clear on the tax arrangements around how his salary for this season would be split, something he has now accepted.

 Either way, Ajax will not cover even two million euros of his wages, which rise under his Barcelona contract that runs until 2028.

 Barcelona will foot the largest part of the bill. The exact figure remains open because it hinges on how many matches he plays.

 Ajax pushed hard for this condition after the Girona episode, when the club paid their full share despite him playing only two matches through injury.

This three-way deal has grown more tangled than anyone expected. Last week Barcelona shifted their stance, moving from stressing the need for an immediate solution to insisting they could not resolve a situation that rests entirely on the player. He alone is responsible for settling these personal financial matters.

 Faced with the difficulty of reaching a comprehensive agreement, and keen to avoid delays that would help nobody, the club still moved to ease his exit by intervening and amending several clauses.

Ajax have watched all this with bewilderment. As far as they were concerned, everything had been discussed and agreed, and the only job left was to put the previous financial terms down in the official papers. They can find no explanation for the delay, and they concede they have set no final deadline to walk away, though that too is not set in stone.

The Dutch club are now weighing up every scenario. The loan might go through, or it might collapse.

Ter Stegen, meanwhile, offers no explanations and prefers to stay silent. Bar a single day, he continues to train under Hansi Flick at the sports city while he waits for the matter to be settled and for his move to the Netherlands.