Maarten Paes joins Ajax – Indonesian goalkeeper joines from FC Dallas

Transfer details  

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FC Dallas have sold goalkeeper Maarten Paes to Dutch giants Ajax. The Indonesian national team goalkeeper leaves the club after making 114 appearances for FC Dallas tying a record set by Matt Jordan for the most starts in franchise history. Dallas will receive €1.5 million from Ajax for Paes. Paes has signed a deal until the end of the 2029/30 season.

“Dallas meant so much to me,” Paes said in a club statement. “I came to Dallas in 2022, and these past four years have changed me so much as a person in the right way. I want to thank the entire city of Dallas, FC Dallas, and everyone I have worked with. These have been the most beautiful years of my life, and I enjoyed every single minute. Thank you for all your support. Dallas till I die.”

The MLS club signed Paes in a deal worth €1m from FC Utrecht ahead of the 2022 season, and the 27-year-old quickly developed into one of the more stable goalkeepers in MLS. In 128 games across all competitions, Paes managed 26 clean sheets and conceded 178 goals. Paes missed the end of the 2025 regular season with a hamstring injury and lost the starting role to backup keeper Michael Collodi, who played the final regular season game and was in goal as Dallas was eliminated in two games by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Marten Paes to Ajax: Have monitored him “for several seasons”

Why did Ajax buy Paes? The club did sell backup Remko Pasveer to Heracles Almelo and was looking for a backup. “After we were informed of the concrete interest in Remko Pasveer, we acted immediately,” Ajax director of football Marijn Beuker said. “We have been monitoring Maarten for several seasons and are pleased that we have now succeeded in bringing him to Ajax. The focus was on an experienced and reliable goalkeeper, and Maarten more than meets these criteria. He is also a real training beast, a team player with a top-level sporting mentality who perfectly fits the type of goalkeeper we were looking for. In combination with the talented goalkeepers we already have in-house, this provides a strong foundation for the coming seasons.”