Amsterdam, Aug 4 (IANS) AFC Ajax have officially reached an agreement with FC Barcelona to sign veteran goalkeeper Marc ter Stegen. The 34-year-old makes the move to Amsterdam on a season-long loan deal after temporarily departing the La Liga champions for a loan spell at Girona in January.
Ter Stegen was born on April 30, 1992, in Mönchengladbach, Germany. He began his professional career with Borussia Mönchengladbach. After three and a half seasons and 127 appearances for his hometown club, he signed for FC Barcelona in 2014.
A Champions League winner with Barça in 2015 and the holder of 21 trophies in blaugrana, Ter Stegen has made 423 appearances for the club, making him the 11th player with the most official appearances for FC Barcelona and the second-highest foreign appearance-maker, behind only Leo Messi.
The 44-cap Germany international spent the second half of last season on loan at Girona FC, the Spanish club managed by head coach Míchel Sánchez.
Ajax director Jordi Cruyff expressed immense satisfaction after finally getting the complex deal over the line.
“Marc has an outstanding track record, and his qualities are widely recognized. He is an immediate addition to our squad. Marc and I know each other well, and I’m looking forward to working with him again. We have been working on bringing him here for quite some time, so we’re very pleased that he has signed his contract and can now get started,” Cruyff said in an official statement.
Ter Stegen is the second German player to join the Amsterdam club ahead of the upcoming season. Julian Brandt last week signed a three-year deal as a free agent after his Borussia Dortmund contract expired.
Ajax is seeking to rebound from a chaotic season that ended in fifth place in the Dutch Eredivisie. They have already started their preparation in the qualifying rounds of the third-tier Conference League and will host Shelbourne on Friday in a first-leg game.
–IANS
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