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Gone are the days when Dutch football and Ajax ruled world football under the guidance of legendary managers and players such as Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. It had been more than two decades since Ajax reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League until this season.
Throughout this time, the famed Ajax Youth Academy kept on producing world-class talents one after another. The lure of more competitive leagues and much more riches have seen Ajax failing to keep those talents, with most of them moving abroad to newer pastures.
Here is the list of top 10 record transfer departures from Ajax.
#10 Justin Kluivert - £15.53 million to AS Roma
Son of legendary Dutch striker Patrick Kulivert, Justin Kluivert started his football career with Dutch giants Ajax just like his father. The young Kluivert spent nine years at the youth academy of the Dutch giants before being promoted to the reserve side.
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Justin made his professional debut in the Eerste Divisie on September 2016 before being elevated to the senior team in the same season and making his Eredivisie debut on January 2017.
The Dutch winger became a key figure for the Ajax team in his second year at the club, even managing to score a hat-trick in the Eredivisie, something his father failed to do so in his career.
After two seasons with Ajax, Justin made the move down to Italian club AS Roma after a reported phone call from football legend Francesco Totti convinced the then-teenager to join the Roman club.
Justin made a total of 56 appearances for Ajax and scored 13 goals for the club.
#9 Daley Blind - £15.75 million to Manchester United
The son of Ajax legend Danny Blind, Daley Blind started his youth career at Ajax, spending 10 years at the youth academy before making his professional debut against FC Volendam in December 2018 in the Eredivisie.
The second season was spent on loan at FC Groningen before struggling to get back into the team, following his return to the club. However, the arrival of Frank de Boer changed the scenario for the versatile defender as Blind became an integral part of the Ajax side that won four consecutive Eredivisie titles between 2010 and 2014.
After six seasons with Ajax as a professional, Daley moved to Manchester United in the summer transfer window of 2014. The player though returned to his home four years later after first-team opportunities became scarce at Old Trafford.
Daley has made 196 appearances for the Dutch giants, with 143 of those coming in his first spell. The defender also has seven major titles to his name with Ajax.
#8 Cristian Chivu - £16.2 million to AS Roma
Unlike the first two names on the list, Cristian Chivu is not an Ajax Youth Academy product. Chivu started his footballing career with Romanian side FCM Resita before moving to Universitatea Craiova and then joining Ajax in 1999.
It was at Ajax that Chivu started making a name for himself as a free-kick specialist. The Romanian became a vital player for Ronald Koeman as Ajax dominated the Eredivisie. Chivu was the captain of the exciting Ajax side which had Wesley Sneijder, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael Van der Vaart, and Maxwell.
Chivu left Ajax in 2003, after making 142 appearances and scoring 13 times for the Dutch giants, joining Italian side AS Roma. He also won three major titles during his time at Ajax.
#7 Luis Suarez - £23.85 million to Liverpool
The second player on the list who is not an Ajax Academy Academy product is Luis Suarez, who started his footballing career at the Uruguayan club Nacional before joining FC Groningen and then Ajax in 2007. The Uruguayan had a rapid rise in his professional career as he made the move to Europe after a single season as a professional with Nacional and then later to Ajax after just one season with Groningen.
Ajax made the Uruguayan into the fearsome striker he is today. Under the guidance of legendary striker Marco van Basten, Suarez became a goal-scoring machine in his three-and-a-half seasons with Ajax.
Suarez made 158 appearances and scored 111 goals for the Dutch giants. The striker also won two major titles with them, including the 2010-11 Eredivisie, even though he made just 13 appearances that season before moving to Liverpool in the January transfer window of 2011.
#6 Wesley Sneijder - £24.3 million to Real Madrid
An Ajax Youth Academy product, Wesley Sneijder joined the academy at the age of 7, spendings 11 years at the academy before turning professional in 2002 and making his professional debut for Ajax against Willem II on February 2003.
The attacking midfielder quickly established himself in the first team and formed the core of an exciting Ajax team that contained future stars such as Ibrahimovic, Van der Vaart and Maxwell to name a few.
Sneijder enjoyed five seasons with the Dutch giants, making 180 appearances and scoring 58 goals before moving to Spain to join Real Madrid in 2007. The Dutch won four major titles during his time with Ajax.
#5 Davy Klaassen - £24.3 million to Everton
Another Ajax Youth Academy product, Davy Klaassen joined the club's youth set-up at the age of 11. The Dutch international spent eight years at the academy before making his debut in November 2011, a couple of months before signing his first professional contract.
The attacking midfielder played a vital role in the Dutch team's run to the 2017 Europa League final as well as for the Ajax side which won three successive Eredivisie titles between 2010 and 2013 before making his move to Everton in 2017.
Former Ajax captain Klaassen enjoyed six seasons at the Dutch capital, making 181 appearances and scoring 55 goals. The attacking midfielder also won three major titles with the club.
#4 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - £24.3 million to Real Madrid
The only Dutch footballer on the list who did not start his youth career in Ajax, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar made his first steps into the world of football at the academy of arch-rivals PSV Eindhoven.
Huntelaar moved to Heerenveen, following limited playing time at PSV before joining Ajax for the first time in his career in 2006. In his first spell at the club, Huntelaar made 136 appearances and scored 105 times for Ajax and won three major titles with the club. The striker then joined Real Madrid in 2008 after three years with the Dutch giants.
Huntelaar returned to Ajax last summer after spells with Real Madrid, AC Milan and Schalke. The striker in his second stint helped Ajax win the KNVB Cup as well as the Eredivisie, after a gap of four years.
Huntelaar, in total made 211 appearances for the Dutch side and scored 141 goals.
#3 Arkadiusz Milik - £28.80 million to Napoli
Unlike the rest of the names in the list, Arkadiusz Milik was a Bayern Leverkusen reject who came back to the forefront of football after reviving his career at Ajax.
Milik started his football career in Poland with Gornik Zabre before joining Bayern Leverkusen, FC Augsburg (loan) and finally Ajax in 2014, initially on loan before making his move permanent the next season.
Milik endured a tough start to his career before turning his fortunes after his impressive loan spell at the Johan Cruyff Arena. The Polish international stay at the Dutch capital was short but he scored an impressive 47 goals in 75 appearances for Ajax.
#2 Davinson Sanchez - £36 million to Tottenham Hotspur
The costliest South American player on the list, Davinson Sanchez like Luis Suarez, started his football career at his home nation of Colombia with Atletico Nacional in 2013 before making his move to Ajax in 2016.
Sanchez spent just one season at the Dutch capital but was a key figure at the heart of their defence as Ajax finished runners-up to Manchester United in the 2017 UEFA Europa League final. He then joined Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2017.
In his only season at Ajax, Sanchez made 46 appearances for the club and scored seven times but failed to lift any silverware after finishing runners-up to arch-rivals Feyenoord in the league.
#1 Frenkie de Jong - £67.5 million to Barcelona
The latest name to join the list, Frenkie de Jong is the record transfer departure from the Dutch giants. The midfield anchor is unlikely to be the last one to move out of Ajax during the transfer window, with captain Matthjis De Ligt and Hakim Ziyech already given permission to move abroad, while winger David Neres and midfielder Donny van de Beek also attracting interest from several European heavyweights.
De Jong, who will play for Barcelona next season, did not start his football career with Ajax. He made his way through Willem II before moving to Ajax in 2015. The first season at Ajax saw De Jong being made to play with the reserves before being promoted to the first team in the 2016-17 season.
Since 2017-18, De Jong has been a mainstay at the Ajax midfield. He made 89 appearances for the senior team, scoring five goals. He helped Ajax to win the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup in his last season at the club.
