October 5 – Ajax Amsterdam has reported an €8.1 million loss for the 2020/21 season, a deficit the Dutch club attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and a season where most of the matches were played without fans.
For 2019/2020 Ajax booked a net profit of almost €21 million, but revenue dropped by €37.1 million during the pandemic-hit season to €125.2 million.
Football income, including revenue from match-day operations, dropped to €47.9 million while commercial income fell to €27.7 million. Ajax did enjoy a 15% rise in broadcast revenue, to €11.7 million.
Ajax offered its fans a refund for matches they could not attend, with a substantial amount of supporters demanding their money back. The operational deficit of the reigning Dutch champions was €33 million.
In the financial year, Donny van de Beek (Manchester United), Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona), Sven Botman (Lille) and Lassina Traoré (Shakhtar Donetsk) were all sold, bringing in €86 million. Ajax spent on signing Sébastien Haller, Davy Klaassen, Mohammed Kudus and Sean Klaiber, eventually resulting in a player trading surplus of €25.6 million.
During the pandemic, Ajax also received €10.7 million in support from the government to pay the salaries of staff. The club stressed that this money was not used for player wages.
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