Ajax Amsterdam's Best XI if they hadn't sold their players
Ajax Amsterdam's academy is arguably the best youth football system in the world right now. The Dutch giants consistently produce world-class footballers and have even eclipsed Barcelona's famous La Masia in recent years.
Consisting of 13 different youth teams at various age levels, Ajax can claim Johan Cruyff, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Ruud Krol, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp as just a few of their most illustrious alumni.
Under Erik ten Hag in the last couple of years, Ajax have once again risen to the pinnacle of European football, reaching the Champions League semifinals last year. They also scored a massive 119 goals en route to the Eredivisie title.
After selling two of their best players, they once again played some scintillating football in the group stages this season, before missing out on qualification by just one point. The Dutch champions will, however, be among the favourites now for the Europa League.
Their recent resurgence has been in spite of the club continuing to sell their best players to European heavyweights. Over the last couple of decades, Ajax have been a feeder club to the continental elite, with players like Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Christian Eriksen and several others going on to achieve great things in other leagues.
What if Ajax had held on to these players over the last few years? Let's take a look at a starting XI of some of the greatest players Ajax Amsterdam have sold in recent history:
GK: Jasper Cillessen (Valencia)
Although he wasn't actually a youth graduate, Ajax was where Jasper Cillessen really made a name for himself. He won 3 league titles with them before completing a high profile move to Barcelona.
Cillessen was mostly just a back-up for Marc-Andre ter Stegen at the Camp Nou, but the Dutchman put on solid performances whenever he was called upon, and remained the Netherlands national team's first choice.
The 29-year-old moved on to Valencia last summer for €35 million, where he's been starting regularly until a recent calf injury.
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