BREAKING: FC Dallas transferring Maarten Paes to Ajax

Per multiple sources including the Athletic's Tom Bogert on Bluesky:

Not that Bogert needs it, but I can also confirm this.

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On some level this felt inevitable.

I've talked about Paes' future multiple times on the site dating back to my first podcast where I wondered about this specific situation unfolding. In my preseason players to watch post, Paes was second considering he was entering a battle with Michael Collodi. This move felt like a possibility since Collodi took over the starting job at 2025's end.

Paes finishes his Burn career with 114 league starts, a 1.40 GA/90, and an almost 72% save percentage. His story is remarkable, going from an unknown signed ahead of the 2022 campaign to one of MLS' best shot stoppers in the span of 24 months. A move up seemed it would happen even earlier. Rumors linked Paes to Italian side Empoli in 2024, but that never came to pass.

This moves makes all the sense in the world for Paes. He heads to his home nation, where he began his career in the Eredivise with FC Utrecht. Ajax is currently 3rd in the league table and is in Champions League, though they sit fourth from the bottom. The chance to play for a giant in his home country while experiencing continental European football is too much to pass up.

It'll also make his international career that much easier. Paes' travel routines going from Frisco to Indonesia national team duty were legendary, taking multiple flights across thousands of miles. This move gets him closer to everywhere he'll need to be for the foreseeable future, including his current partner who is a European based model.

As for the FC Dallas end of this, it'll be hard to pass final judgement without a reported transfer fee. Even so it's hard to imagine Dallas won't profit from this deal as Paes' 2022 purchase option is thought to be in the $1 million range. He's worth at least double if not triple that these days, which has me safe in speculating that once again Andre Zanotta and company have done what they do: Take a player few knew about, make them a quality MLS player, and sell them for profit. That's part of the game, like it or not.

Where this does leave Dallas a bit short is at the keeper position. Collodi is now the starter, or I guess remains the starter is the more correct language. That leaves the backup keeper for Dallas as... looks around I'm not sure. Based on the current roster and camp status Academy product Nico Montoya is the right this second answer. He's a great young prospect but he's not ready for prime time yet.

Based on some quick social media and internet sweeping, it doesn't appear last year's keeper surprise Jacob Jackson is signed. That'd be a natural avenue since he's already familiar with the club. Other domestic options include former RSL and LAFC keeper David Ochoa and former Nashville SC keeper Elliot Panicco.

With the primary transfer window open, Dallas could always sign someone outside the league. It's worth noting however that any international Dallas brings in will need an international roster spot, something that at current count Dallas does not have available. Between the GAM Dallas already has and what they'll get in part from Paes' transfer, it wouldn't be hard to acquire another international spot. The believed price of those is somewhere around $300,000-$350,00 GAM.

While the results of this will be covered in full, I'd like to end this post by praising Ajax' new keeper. Paes was a true professional in his Dallas tenure on and off the pitch. He grew to love the sports teams here; he was a fixture at Stars and Mavs games when he lived downtown across from the AAC. Whenever us radio people needed something, he was happy to oblige.

He even did a turn in the FC Dallas radio booth with us last season as he recovered from injury. He arrived a couple hours early, wanted to know as much about the process as we could give him, and was genuinely excited to be a part of our world for a short time. His presence was a pleasure that day as it was for the four seasons Paes wore the crest.

As he departs back home Paes deserves a permanent positive place in Dallas' history. He'll forever be in the conversation of top Burn keepers, one who made a larger than expected impact. While FC Dallas' "New Era" ended about a year ago, the embers of that roster smoldered in 2025. With the departure of Paes, Sebastian Lletget, and Marco Farfan the coals are officially cold.