Ajax Amsterdam – A History of Producing Excellence

The Ajax academy has produced some of the most lauded and skilled Dutch footballers. As a club, Ajax’s eye for talent has allowed them to scoop up young players and develop them into international stars. Here we examine the top 12 of these, as measured by their transfer fees (adjusted for inflation, using a standard 3% yearly…) Oh screw that. You’re here for the players, so let’s begin…

1. Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona (2019) $125 million

Hooligan’s Grade: A-
Since joining Barcelona, Frenkie has appeared in 152 matches and slotted 12 goals. He also became team captain after Sergio Busquets left to join Inter Miami. Fun fact: his boyhood club, Willem II, got 10% of his transfer fee… ka-ching!!

2. Matthijs de Ligt – Juventus (2019) $101 million

Hooligan’s Grade: B-
The departure of both de Ligt and de Jong after Ajax’s gut-wrenching loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League semi-final was, in my opinion, the catalyst of Ajax’s slow decline into mediocrity. Marc Overmars was the other. But I digress.
The six years since his departure have been unstable ones for Matthijs. He bounced from Juventus to Bayern Munich and has now landed at Manchester United. But, tellingly, his transfer fee has declined each time…. not good.

3. Antony – Manchester United (2022) $97 million

Hooligan’s Grade: D-
Antony remains the biggest transfer fee (non-adjusted) ever for an Eredivisie player, and a spectacular public service message about the perils of overspending.
Case in point… his cost per goal ratio (in $millions):
Ajax – 1.26
Man U – 19.40 ~~OUCH~~

4. Lisandro Martínez – Manchester United (2022) $64 million

Sharp readers will notice a trend here… For some reason many top Ajax transfers end up at Manchester United. Perhaps it’s because current (Editor: not for long) head coach Eric ten Hag is trying to reassemble his heralded 2019 Ajax team?
Lisandro’s tenure at Man U has been deviled by injuries, so the jury is still out on his overall impact.

5. Donny van de Beek – Manchester United (2020) $51 million

Hooligan’s Grade: F
Told you there was a pattern…
If Antony is a cautionary tale about club’s overspending, then Donny van de Beek is a horror-story about a bright-eyed talent crushed by relentless gears of a heartless machine.
His goals per game avg. at Ajax was a respectable 0.24. At Man U (including his two lackluster loan spells with Everton & Eintract Frankfurt) it was a dismal 0.06.
One can only hope that his recent move to Girona will give him a boost.

6. Davinson Sánchez – Tottenham Hotspur (2017) $61 million

Hooligan’s Grade: C
Sánchez represents the shrewd business savvy Ajax used to have. Signed in 2016 from Colombian club Atlético Nacional for just under $13M, the club sold him to Spurs 13 months later for nearly 5x (their highest paid transfer at the time). He now plays at Galatasaray with fellow Ajax alum Hakim Ziyech.

7. Hakim Ziyech – Chelsea (2020) $51 million

Hooligan’s Grade: C-
There’s much to love about Ziyech… his slick dribbling, lethal finishing and pinpoint long passes are just the start. But his talents were squandered in Chelsea blue, as evinced by his goals/game ratio:
Ajax – 0.34
Chelsea – 0.09
Galatasaray – 0.33 (he was on a 1 year loan in 2023-24)

8. Jurriën Timber – Arsenal (2023) $44 million

Hooligan’s Grade: n/a
During his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest on August 18, 2023 Timber was subbed out in the 50th minute. It was later revealed he had suffered a torn ACL. He would return for the final game of that season, but his impact at the Gunners is yet to be seen.

9. Luis Suárez – Liverpool (2011) $42 million

Love him; hate him… you have plenty of ammunition for both. Just don’t ever, ever, call him dull.

10. Wesley Sneijder – Real Madrid (2007) $39 million

A ruthless dead-ball specialist, Sneijder might be small in stature (he’s 5’7″) but he’s huge on impact. After Ajax he had spells with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Galatasaray. He also holds the most caps for the Dutch national team, at 134.

11. Justin Kluivert – AS Roma (2018) $26.1 million

A second generation Ajax academy graduate (his father Patrick was a ferocious striker), young Justin’s Roma career was spent bouncing around on load to RB Leipzig, Nice and Valencia. So, not the most successful transfer. He’s currently at Bournemouth and doing very well, thank you.

12. Ryan Gravenberch – Bayern Munich (2022) $23.5 million

Winner of the Ajax Academy’s “Abdelhak Nouri Trofee” in 2018 in recognition of exceptional talent, Ryan has gone on to deliver for both the senior Ajax squad, and his subsequent clubs Bayern Munich and Liverpool.

Bonus! Johan Cruijff – Barcelona (1973) $Priceless

Hooligan’s Score: A++++++++
One could argue that Cruijff, who revolutionized play on the pitch, also kickstarted the multi-million transfer fee mania. The $2M Barcelona paid was a world record at the time, but the club certainly got their money’s worth. And then some.