Throughout the years, Ajax has had veteran players who have served the club well into their thirties. However, who are the oldest Ajax players to score in the Eredivisie?
Andre Ooijer (37 years, nine months and 25 days)
The centre-back joined Ajax at the end of a long career and played for the Amsterdammers from 2010 until 2012.
He is most well-known for his time playing with the club’s rivals, PSV Eindhoven, although he also spent three seasons in England with Blackburn Rovers.
Ooijer scored three goals in his 22 Eredivisie appearances for Ajax, with his final goal coming at the age of 37 years, nine months, and 25 days in a 3-1 win at Vitesse Arnhem. This earned him the honour of being Ajax’s oldest-ever league goalscorer.
Arnold Muhren (37 years, five months and four days)
During his illustrious career, the midfielder enjoyed two separate spells with the club from the Dutch capital. His first spell with Ajax came from 1971 until 1974.
However, after a spell at FC Twente and in the English First Division with Ipswich Town and Manchester United, Muhren returned to the club in 1985 and retired there in 1989.
He scored 14 goals in his second spell with the club, the last of which came in November 1988 in a 4-0 home win over MVV Maastricht.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (37 years, five months and two days)
The striker had two spells in the Dutch capital, as he initially played for Ajax from 2006 until 2009. After numerous moves elsewhere, including spells with Real Madrid and Milan, Huntelaar returned to the club in 2017 and plied his trade there until 2021.
During his second period with the Dutch giants, he scored a highly respectable 45 goals in 85 Eredivisie appearances.
His last goal for Ajax came on January 14th, 2021, at the age of 37 years, five months, and two days, when he scored in a 3-1 away win against FC Twente.
Danny Blind (37 years, three months and 28 days)
Despite starting his professional career at Sparta Rotterdam, Blind became an Ajax legend for his performances from 1986 until 1999.
During his Ajax career, Blind scored 27 times in 372 Eredivisie appearances. The defender’s final goal for the club came in a 3-2 defeat at Vitesse Arnhem when he was 37 years, three months and 28 days old.
Johan Cruyff (35 years, 11 months and 30 days)
The great Cruyff has become synonymous with Dutch football, and Ajax in particular, having enjoyed two spells as a player and one as a head coach at the Amsterdam club.
In the second spell of his playing career from 1981 until 1983, Cruyff scored 14 goals. His last goal for Ajax was in a 2-0 win at FC Utrecht in August 1983.
Two years later, he returned to the Dutch capital as the team’s head coach, a position he held until 1988 before a famous return to Barcelona, another of his former clubs.
Sjaak Swart (34 years, ten months and 16 days)
The winger nicknamed ‘Mr Ajax’ for his long service to the club was a teammate of Cruyff’s in the club’s great team of the early 1970s. However, he started his career with the Amsterdam outfit in 1959 and ended it in 1973.
His final goodbye to the Ajax faithful was a goal against Az Alkmaar in a 3-0 home win on May 19th 1973. The goal was his 170th in the Eredivisie.
Jaap Stam (34 years, six months and 11 days)
The centre-back ended his playing days at the club in the 2006/07 season after a long trophy-laden career that included spells at Manchester United, Milan and Lazio.
Stam scored his only goal for Ajax in 31 Eredivisie appearances in a 3-2 win in January 2007 at the age of 34 years, six months, and 11 days.
Dusan Tadic (34 years, six months and eight days)
The Serbian attacking midfielder enjoyed five years at Ajax from 2018 until 2023, scoring an impressive 77 goals in 161 Eredivisie appearances for the Amsterdammers.
The former Southampton star’s last goal for the club from the Dutch capital came on May 28th 2023, in a 3-1 defeat at FC Twente.
Arnold Scholten (34 years, four months and one day)
The midfielder had two periods at Ajax from 1986 until 1990 and 1995 until 1997. His second period with the Dutch giants consisted of just 44 appearances, in which he scored three goals.
Scholten’s last goal for the Amsterdammers came on 6th April 1997 in a 3-0 win at FC Volendam.
Christian Poulsen (34 years, one month and 16 days)
After a long and varied career that included spells at the likes of Sevilla, Juventus and Liverpool, among others, the Danish midfielder joined Ajax in 2012 from French club Evian and played for the club for two seasons until 2014, making 54 Eredivisie appearances.
Poulsen scored just one goal in the Dutch top flight during his spell in Amsterdam. His solitary strike came in a 3-2 home win over ADO Den Haag on 13th August 2014. Poulsen was 34 years, one month, and 16 days old at the time of his goal.
Who is your favourite Ajax player on our list?