Okay, so this is a new series we recently started looking at a club’s 7 most expensive player sales and where those players are now. We’ve previously looked at Southampton and Porto, and this week we move onto Ajax.
I’m pretty much just picking the suggested clubs with the most likes in the comments, so make sure to get your suggestions and likes in below so we know which clubs you’re most keen to see covered.
Now, before we start, we are frighteningly close to reaching the 100,000 subscribers mark, which I don’t need to remind you my boss told me we’d never reach before the New Year. To say thank you I said I’d do a video on the 100 greatest footballers of all time once we reach that milestone, which I deeply regret. It turns out it’s really quite hard to come up with a top 100 you’re happy with, order them correctly, write 100 mini-bios, record 100 mini-bios, source the images for 100 mini-bios and then edit 100 mini-bios.
Anyway, I’ll stop whinging now, but we’re going to try and do that video as a premiere on here, which we’ve never done before, but we’ll see how that goes. The sooner we reach that 100,000 mark the sooner we’ll make that happen, so if you’re a fan of the channel but don’t yet subscribe, feel free to join us now.
Right, back to today’s video, here are Ajax’s 7 most lucrative sales: Where are they now?
7. Justin Kluivert – Roma
The first entry in this seven and the most recent, Justin Kluivert’s 18.75 million euro move to Roma in the summer keeps the likes of Christian Eriksen, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dennis Bergkamp out of this seven. The son of Patrick Kluivert, who also impressed at Ajax before making a move to Italy at a young age, Justin is still only 19. A skilful wide man with an impressive burst of acceleration, Kluivert undoubtedly has bags of potential, and he could become a really useful player with the right attitude and guidance.
6. Luis Suarez – Barcelona
Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona reacts during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou on November 11, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain.
The outstanding player in this seven, Luis Suarez left Ajax in a £22.8 million move to Liverpool. That figure may be enough to put him sixth in this seven, but it was an absolute bargain for the Reds, who soon paid £35 million for Andy Carroll and later sold Suarez for £65 million. A brilliant all-round centre-forward, Suarez has ironed out the idiocy in his game since signing for Barcelona, whilst maintaining his individual brilliance.
5. Wesley Sneijder – Al-Gharafa
In joint fifth, or joint fourth place, since he left Ajax for exactly the same fee as the man up next, is former Netherlands star Wesley Sneijder. Having been one of the most highly-regarded youngsters in world football during his time at Ajax, Snieijder was signed by Real Madrid for 27 million euros in 2007. It would be with Inter Milan that Sneijder enjoyed his best form though, particularly in 2010, when he was a real Ballon d’Or candidate having starred in Inter’s historic treble win and inspired the Netherlands to the World Cup final.
Aged 34, Sneijder is currently contracted to Al-Gharafa of the Qatar Stars League, although it’s not clear for how much longer that will be the case. The former Galatasaray man has scored 14 goals in 18 league games for the club, but he left the field declaring that he would never play in Qatar again having been sent off over the weekend.
4. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – Ajax
Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax during the Dutch Eredivisie match between Excelsior v Ajax at the Van Donge & De Roo Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Rotterdam Netherlands
It’s not unusual for players who starred for Ajax earlier in their careers to return to the club later on. Johan Cruyff did it. Frank Rijkaard did it. And recently, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar did it. An old school poacher with a sixth sense for sniffing out chances and a lethal finish, Huntelaar scored 105 goals in 136 games in his first spell with the club, before moves to Real Madrid, AC Milan and Schalke. Now aged 35, Huntelaar rejoined Ajax in 2017, and he has since bagged 24 goals in 52 games.
3. Davy Klaassen – Werder Bremen
It’s a pretty clear sign of how transfer fees have exploded in the last few years that Davy Klaassen ranks above the likes of Luis Suarez and Wesley Sneijder in this seven. The hard working playmaker set Everton back £23.6 million in 2017, but lasted just a season with the Toffees before being sold to Werder Bremen. Named as the Dutch Footballer of the Year in 2016, Klaassen hasn’t won an international cap for his country in over a year.
2. Arkadiusz Milik – Napoli
Arkadiusz Milik of Poland reacts during International Friendly match between Poland and Czech Republic on November 15, 2018 in Gdansk, Poland.
A forward who showed such promise at Ajax, scoring 47 goals in 75 games, Arkadiusz Milik was expected to really push on following a near-£30 million move to Napoli, but he has failed to do so, thanks in no small part to a string of injuries. If Milik can stay fit, he’s got goals in him, as shown by his 4 goals in 9 games so far this term, and he is still only 24.
1. Davinson Sanchez – Tottenham
Top spot in this seven, and by some distance too, Davinson Sanchez is not only Ajax’s record sale, but also the most expensive sale in Eredivisie history. Signed by Tottenham for a reported club record £42 million in the summer of 2017, Sanchez is a class act, and he made 41 appearances for the club in his debut season. Ajax’s Player of the Year in 2017, it’s rare that Spurs splash the cash like they did on Sanchez, so it was clear how highly they rated the Colombian. His performances suggest they were right to do so, and they’ve already tied him down on a new deal until 2024.
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