Saying Goodbye to Maarten Paes
After rumors swirled last week, FC Dallas confirms that longtime keeper Maarten Paes is on his way to his next adventure.
With the regular season weeks away, FC Dallas confirmed this morning that longtime goalkeeper Maarten Paes has been sold to AFC Ajax.
Paes has been a fan favorite, flirting with dominance in 114 Major League Soccer matches, the most for an FC Dallas keeper in team history. His shot-stopping ability kept his side in match after match, but with the emergence of homegrown Michael Collodi outright winning the job last season, a change seemed the logical next step. The move is a win/win.
“Dallas meant so much to me,” goalkeeper Maarten Paes said. “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.”
Rumors have echoed around the league about the future of the international keeper, including a potential move to a top team in Indonesia now that he regularly starts for their national team. Paes took to Twitter to knock down those rumors, but while in Portugal for preseason, Ajax clearly were scouting him and working on a transfer. Clearly, both FC Dallas, Ajax, and Paes found a deal too good to pass up.
Paes’ name inspired a lot of joy and memes from fans for his incredible saves over the years.
He goes down as one of the most successful international signings in recent years for FC Dallas.
In the short term, the move doesn’t threaten FC Dallas’ goals for 2026. Tom Bogert is already reporting that the team is looking to bring in a worthy veteran Canadian keeper from Montreal as a replacement. Jonathan Sirois has started a bunch of games (102!!!), so at least, he will compete for the starting spot or push Collodi:
But Collodi has been spectacular.
FC Dallas is in good hands.