Top 5 greatest players sold by Ajax

Ajax has won 33 national titles and is the most successful Dutch club till date. They are also amongst the select few clubs who have won all three major UEFA club competitions.

However, AFC Ajax is also famous for selling many players which went on to become global icons in other parts of the world. The club is known to have produced some of the finest talents in football. Many of the players trained at Ajax's youth academy now play in Europe's top flight leagues.

Barcelona is one particular club which has shown a lot of interest in buying players from Ajax.

Young midfielder Frenkie De Jong was linked with Manchester City and PSG as well but finally signed by Barcelona. The versatile Dutch player will be joining Barcelona from 1st July 2019. The Catalan club had to shell out a whopping 75 million euros for Frenkie de Jong and will reportedly be paying an additional 11 million euros in variables.

Frenkie has signed for the next 5 seasons. Brilliant technical ability, killer passes, and an exceptional game sense - these are the traits one does not see in every other midfielder but the former Ajax player possesses them.

That is the reason why Barcelona was willing to splurge so much money for Frenkie as he is one of the classiest midfielders of the current generation. Frenkie has the ability to play both as an attacking or defensive midfielder as per the need of the team. He promises to be a key playmaker for Barcelona.

Had Ajax not sold their best players then they would be having one of the best lineups in World football. In this article, we take a look at the all-time top 5 best players sold by The Lancers.

Even though De Jong is a fine talent, he still has a long way to go and is not included in the Top 5 list. Other honourable mentions are Jan Vertonghen, Daley Blind, Davy Klaassen, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Arkadiusz Milik, Davinson Sánchez, Wesley Sneijder, and Cristian Chivu.

Without further ado, here are the Top 5 greatest players sold by Ajax:

Note: All the transfer fee value taken is as per Transfermarkt.

---

#5 Christian Eriksen

Christian Eriksen during Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen is an integral part of Tottenham Hotspur currently.

Eriksen moved to Ajax's youth team in 2008 from Odense Boldklub for £ 1.35 million. The Attacking midfielder made his first-team debut in 2010. He soon became a regular starter in the team and held the responsibility of being the main creator.

The Dane went on to score 32 goals in 162 appearances for the Amsterdammers and assisted over 50 goals. He also won three back-to-back Eredivisie titles from 2010 to 2013.

His splendid display on the pitch has earned him multiple individual honours such as Dutch Football Talent of the Year in 2011 and Danish Football Player of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 to name a few.

The technically gifted player was roped in by Tottenham on 30 August 2013. It is reported that he put pen to paper for £ 12.15 million. The 26-year-old has amassed 62 goals in 254 appearances for The Lilywhites.

#4 Zlatan Ibrahimović

Zlatan Ibrahimović

Even though Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had a controversial career, one just can not disagree that he possessed one of the best goal-scoring ability of all time. The Malmö-born player began his career with local team Malmö FF.

De Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods), as Ajax are popularly known, roped Zlatan in when he was just 19 at a then club record fee of €7.8 million. The lanky forward amassed 48 goals in 110 appearances for Ajax during his 3-season stay.

Zlatan was then bought by Serie A giants Juventus for £ 14.40 million. However, an unsuccessful run in 2 seasons prompted another move and Ibrahimović moved to Internazionale for nearly £ 22.32 million. He made Inter his own and had a fantastic time with them, scoring 66 goals in 117 appearances.

Catalan giants Barca became interested in the Swede player and roped him in for a hefty £ 62.55 million. The move did not pay off and Zlatan was a misfit for the Barca style of play. Zlatan was back in Italy and spent two seasons with A.C Milan wherein he amassed 56 goals in 85 appearances.

The 37-year-old is best known for his career with French giants PSG. In the 4 seasons with PSG, Zlatan scored 156 goals in 180 appearances. He has become a goal-scoring machine. The striker also represented Manchester United in 53 games and is currently with the Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy.

#3 Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar shouts instructions while playing for Manchester United

Regarded one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Edwin van der Sar is also one of the players to have played for Ajax before gaining immense success in other parts of the World.

The goalkeeper spent his youth career with Foreholte and VV Noordwijk. He was roped in by Ajax in the year 1990. The veteran player won the Dutch Football Goalkeeper of the Year 4 times - in the year 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. He enjoyed an extremely successful stint with the club and made an overall 312 appearances for them in 9 seasons.

Serie A club Juventus signed him ahead of the 1999–2000 season. After two seasons with the Italian club, the lanky goalkeeper made a move to Fulham in 2001.

The Voorhout-born player then made a move to Manchester United for a reported fee of £ 3.60 million. He made 266 appearances for The Red Devils in 6 seasons.

The 48-year-old is amongst the select few players who have lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy with 2 different teams. He won it with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008. Besides holding multiple records, the custodian is also one of the most decorated footballers of all time -- having won 27 major trophies.

Edwin van der Sar has made a return to Ajax and is currently their CEO.

#2 Luis Suárez

Luis Suárez celebrates a goal

Aggressive striker Luiz Saurez is one of the best players to be ever sold by Ajax. The Uruguayan played for local club Nacional before moving to the Netherlands to play for Groningen for the 2006–2007 season.

Ajax bought Saurez from FC Groningen for £ 6.75 million. His initial role at the club was to support Huntelaar. However, the shy youngster transformed himself into a hyperactive goal-scoring machine at Ajax. He soon became the captain and remains one of the clubs' greatest of all time. The Uruguayan amassed a total of 111 goals in 159 appearances for Ajax.

The Salto-born player was signed by Liverpool for £ 23.85 million in 2011. The rest, as they say, is history. The technically gifted player found the back of the net 82 times in 133 games for The Reds.

Barca roped Saurez in ahead of the 2014-15 season for £ 73.55m million. He has scored 167 goals in 224 matches for the Catalans and is still going strong.

#1 Johan Cruyff

Many experts consider Johan Cruyff as one of the greatest players in the history of football. The Amsterdam-born player was an Ajax legend. He was with De Godenzonen from 1957 to 1973 (including youth career) and then from 1981 to 1983. Cryuff amassed an overall 367 goals in 453 appearances for Ajax in the two stints and is their highest goal scorer of all time.

Cruyff won 8 Eredivisie titles with Ajax and 5 KNVB Cups beside winning multiple other honours. The Attacking Midfielder represented Barcelona from 1973 to 1978 after departing from Ajax. Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante, and Feyenoord are the other clubs he represented in his career. The veteran player was also a recipient of the prestigious Ballon d'Or award three times (1971, 1973, and 1974).

Ajax's home ground Amsterdam Arena was renamed the Johan Cruyff Arena in 2018. Such was the importance of the legendary player in the history of the club.

Cryuff went on to have a successful Managerial career as well. He coached Ajax from 6 June 1985 to 4 January 1988 and had a win percentage of 73.50%. He also coached Barcelona from 4 May 1988 to 18 May 1996 and led them to 250 wins, 97 draws, and 83 losses in 430 matches.

He was a true team orchestrator and many youngsters still draw inspiration from his playing style and vision of the game.