More than 500 million euros in the last five years, Ajax has become a talent factory for Europe
The sale of Lisandro Martinez joins a series of huge transfers by Ajax Amsterdam. The Dutch club has been one of the main players in the transfer market in recent years.
Johan Cruyff, Ruud Krol, Arie Haan and Jonny Repp helped win three European Cups in the 1970s. Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard starred in the 1980s before giving way to Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in the 1990s.
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As well as being some of the most famous names in world soccer, they all graduated from the Ajax academy, an institution long famous for its prolific production of players and its pursuit of technical perfection.
The Amsterdam-based club continues to produce some of the most exciting talent in world soccer today. Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Justin Kluivert are among the most recent to emerge from their polished academy.
In the past, this trio would have formed the backbone of Ajax's next great team. But retaining talent has become increasingly challenging as the Dutch league is unable to compete with the wealth of competitions in England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy.
Ajax most profitable transfers
Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt, the young Dutchmen were sold to Barcelona and Juventus respectively for a figure close to 85 million euros, fetching the club an astounding 170 million euros for two transfers.
