Ajax
André Onana
Of all the Ajax players, perhaps Onana has been on the wildest ride since 2019. Just over two years separated a 2021 doping suspension after a positive test for Furosemide – a substance he says was his wife’s and taken mistakenly – and his appearance in the 2023 Champions League final with Internazionale. A £44.1m move to Manchester United followed, where form and fortunes have fluctuated for both club and Cameroon.
Noussair Mazraoui
An Ajax transfer fumble, Mazraoui left for free on expiry of his contract in 2022, joining Bayern Munich. Can play full-back on either flank, and was a key part of Morocco’s run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, but the 26-year-old has not flourished in Germany, and could be sold in this summer, albeit for a significant profit.
Joël Veltman
Brighton activated a preposterously low release clause of €1m to bring Veltman to the Premier League in 2020. Brighton have had lots of exciting full-backs but Veltman, nicknamed Mr Consistent, remains a vital cog on the south coast. Still wears the No 34 in tribute to Abdelhak Nouri, his former Ajax teammate.
Matthijs de Ligt
Captain of Ajax at just 19, De Ligt was arguably the most coveted of their players in 2019. Juventus won his signature that summer, for a cool €75m, before a similar move to Bayern three years later. “If I ever get the chance to return to Ajax, I would like to do it,” revealed De Ligt in an interview this week, before joking: “with the whole side from 2019”.
Daley Blind
Few expected that Blind’s career would gain traction after he left Manchester United in 2018, but that is exactly what has happened: four league titles, deep runs in the Champions League and stints at Bayern and La Liga’s surprise package Girona. Was fitted with a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator after being diagnosed with a heart condition.
Nicolás Tagliafico
Regarded as one of Europe’s best left-backs at Ajax, his club career has stagnated somewhat at Lyon, but he has retained his place in the Argentina squad which romped to the Copa América title in 2021 and World Cup glory in 2022. Tagliafico played a key part in both finals.
Donny van de Beek
One of the shining lights of this Ajax team, Van de Beek’s career has nosedived since he joined Manchester United in 2022 for £35m, including disappointing loans at Everton and Eintracht Frankfurt. He had a daughter (born 2022) and a son (this year) with Estelle Bergkamp, daughter of Dennis.
David Neres
Ajax signed the Brazilian in the summer of 2019 amid interest from England and Spain but Neres lost his place under Erik ten Hag and was sold to Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2022, one month before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Neres safely made it out of the country in March 2022 and secured a move to Benfica, but is yet to discover his best form.
Dusan Tadic
The former Southampton playmaker is maybe the single biggest reason why Ajax made it to the semi-finals; his goal and two assists in their 4-1 win at Real Madrid made him only the ninth player to earn a 10 out of 10 match rating from L’Équipe. After five brilliant years at Ajax, Tadic left for Fenerbahce last year but the 35-year-old retains legendary status in Amsterdam.
Lasse Schöne
Left Ajax for Genoa that summer for €1.5m and endured a torrid time in Italy as Covid took hold. When football resumed in 2020, Schöne remained frozen out of Genoa’s squad, prompting his agent to announce he was “taking legal action” against the club. Now Schöne is back at NEC in the Netherlands at 37 years old, where he made his name before signing for Ajax in 2012.
Frenkie de Jong
Possibly the only star from this team who has fully realised his potential. De Jong has justified his €75m price tag in moving to Barcelona in 2019 and remains one of the most exciting central midfielders in Europe under their manager, Xavi Hernández. Now a father to baby Miles, De Jong is in his prime at 26 years old.
Hakim Ziyech
The Netherlands-born Morocco international has been underwhelming since his move to Chelsea in 2020 despite the Blues’ Champions League final triumph in 2021, where Ziyech was an unused substitute. His best post-Ajax performances were at the World Cup in 2022 but his club future remains uncertain. On loan at Galatasaray, Ziyech has one year on his Chelsea contract.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
The prolific striker retired in 2021 after his second stint at Ajax was followed by a second stint at Schalke. Now 40, he is Ajax’s technical manager, reporting to the sporting director, but has taken a leave of absence this season. Was recently spotted acting as a henchman in an Ajax kit launch video, alongside Jari Litmanen.
Kasper Dolberg
It was a surprise that summer to see Dolberg make a £18.2m switch to Nice, where he had a £62,000 watch stolen in the dressing room by teammate Lamine Diaby-Fadiga, who was sacked. After initially impressing in France, Dolberg left for Anderlecht in 2023. Was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2021.
Daley Sinkgraven
Sinkgraven’s four years at Ajax were injury-stricken, and the former wonderkid left for Bayer Leverkusen shortly after the Spurs semi-final. The arrival of Álex Grimaldo led to Sinkgraven’s departure to Las Palmas last summer.
Lisandro Magallán
Made only four appearances for Ajax, one of which was in the second leg in London, where his slip contributed to Lucas Moura’s dramatic winning goal. Loan spells at Alavés, Crotone and Anderlecht preceded a move to Elche and then Pumas in Mexico.
Tottenham
Hugo Lloris
Surpassed Lilian Thuram to become France’s record appearance holder at the 2022 World Cup, where he helped guide his country to the final. On returning to Spurs, he blamed a lack of “mental freshness” for some costly errors and the arrival of Guglielmo Vicario last summer saw the veteran lose his No 1 spot. Announced a move to LAFC in MLS in December but last made headlines when shivering in a snowstorm during a heavy defeat at Real Salt Lake.
Kieran Trippier
The right-back’s European form earned him a move to Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2019. He settled well, before a 10-week ban and £70,000 fine for breaching the FA’s betting regulations relating to his transfer. Was a key cog in Diego Simeone’s title-winning side of 2021 before moving to Newcastle in 2022. Started England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy, providing an assist for Luke Shaw, but at 33 years old and currently injured, it remains unclear whether he will make Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024.
Danny Rose
After starting the Champions League final for Spurs, the left-back struggled under the new manager José Mourinho and accused the Portuguese of being “unfair” in Tottenham’s Amazon documentary. An unsuccessful loan to Newcastle and permanent move to Watford followed, but the 33-year-old has been without a club since September 2022. “It’s obviously no secret I’ve been away from football and I’ve deliberately not watched any football,” admitted an emotional Rose last year while speaking as a Sky Sport pundit.
Toby Alderweireld
The former Ajax academy graduate made a huge contribution to Spurs’ run to the final. Despite signing a new contract later that year, Alderweireld left for the Qatari side Al-Duhail in 2021 before moving a year later to Royal Antwerp, the city of his birth, where he was immediately made captain. With Antwerp trailing to rivals Genk in the 94th-minute of their final league game, Alderweireld scored a sensational wonder-goal to earn Royal Antwerp their first league title in 66 years. Recently founded an alcohol company, which makes amaretto, gin and pastis.
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Jan Vertonghen
Sustained a concussion in the first leg and played on for nine months with dizziness and headaches. “I couldn’t go to a restaurant,” he recently said of that time. “I couldn’t tolerate crowds. I fell asleep anywhere. Now I am convinced that it was a mental-psychological problem. I was often down.” Vertonghen joined Benfica on expiry of his contract in 2020 and now captains Anderlecht – an eerily similar career arc to his pal Alderweireld: Ajax-Tottenham-playing-in-his-native-Belgium. Vertonghen is set to add to his record 154 international caps at Euro 2024 at the age of 37.
Davinson Sánchez
Another former Ajax player parachuted into Tottenham’s defence (for a club-record £42m), Sánchez had an impressive start at Spurs but faded to being a squad player. Was brought on and taken off as a substitute in the same game by the interim manager Cristian Stellini in April 2023 and openly booed by Spurs fans. Left for Galatasaray last September and has been quietly rebuilding his reputation. Sánchez, 27, has recently been linked with a move to West Ham and Napoli.
Victor Wanyama
Author of surely one of the greatest tweets of all time, Wanyama is another whose career at Tottenham petered out after the Champions League run. Moved to MLS in 2020 with Montreal Impact, now known as CF Montréal, where he continues to be the vice-captain. In December 2022 the Kenyan helped his former and boyhood club, Celtic, sign his Montréal teammate and friend Alistair Johnston, who jokingly referred to Wanyama as “Agent Victor”.
Dele Alli
Dele provided two assists for Lucas Moura in the second leg but he has since been unable to recapture the form which saw him become one of the most exciting midfielders in Europe. Has recently spoken of his desire to get back into the England squad. Injuries and off-field issues have engulfed Dele, who revealed last year he was sexually abused at the age of six and selling drugs at eight. Signed for Everton on a free transfer in 2022, but last played a competitive match more than a year ago during a loan at Besiktas.
Christian Eriksen
The Dane has been on a rollercoaster in the past five years. After leaving Spurs for Internazionale in January 2020, the midfielder won a scudetto the following season before an incident that changed his life. During a Euro 2020 group game against Finland, Eriksen collapsed, suffering a cardiac arrest. After emergency CPR and a hospital visit, Eriksen made a remarkable recovery aided by a cardioverter defibrillator, a device not permitted in Serie A. After terminating his contract with Inter, Eriksen impressed at Brentford on a short-term deal before a move to Manchester United.
Lucas Moura
The Brazilian’s hat-trick heroics to cap a remarkable away-goals win in the second leg against Ajax will never be forgotten by Spurs fans, arguably the club’s best moment since the 1991 FA Cup triumph. Scored another brilliant solo goal in his final game for Spurs before a 2023 move back to São Paulo, where he helped his boyhood side clinch the Copa do Brasil, the club’s first silverware in more than a decade. “I was very happy and fulfilled in many ways, despite not winning a title,” the 31-year-old said recently of his Tottenham days. “It’s a club I will hold dear in my heart.”
Fernando Llorente
Started the first leg against Ajax but was best known as a super-sub at Tottenham, a role he played expertly in the second leg to aid Spurs’ comeback. Was oddly placed on the released list of players by Tottenham that summer, without an official announcement, and left the club shortly after. Brief spells at Udinese and Eibar followed, before he announced his retirement in February 2023. The 6ft 4in former striker now keeps fit “by playing padel” tennis and was pictured watching a professional event in Madrid in February.
Juan Foyth
Had never won any silverware before leaving Spurs – initially on loan – in 2020, but was immediately a key part of Unai Emery’s Villarreal side that won the Europa League in 2021, beating Manchester United in the final on penalties. Holder of a Polish passport, Foyth missed out on the Argentina squad that clinched the Copa América title in 2021, but was selected by Lionel Scaloni for the victorious 2022 World Cup, coming on as a substitute in the semi-final.
Ben Davies
One of just two Spurs players on this list to remain at the club, the Welshman became just the 49th ever Tottenham player to make more than 300 appearances for the club last year. Having earned a university degree in business economics by the time he was 26 while playing full-time, Davies is now working towards a master’s degree in sports business and wants to complete his coaching badges by the time he retires. “I thought a good use of my time in the afternoon would be to get my head in some books, mainly maths and economics,” said the 31-year-old.
Moussa Sissoko
Sissoko was one of Tottenham’s players of the season in 2018-19 but it was the Frenchman that was penalised for handball just 22 seconds into the Champions League final with Liverpool. Was a popular player at Spurs under Mourinho but form and a knee injury meant he made an ill-fated switch to Watford, who suffered relegation in 2022. Sissoko, 34, now plays for Nantes in Ligue 1 after joining in 2022.
Son Heung-min
Excused from the full 21-month military service after helping South Korea to victory in the 2018 Asian Games, Son finished a shorter period of service over lockdown. The 31-year-old is now third on Spurs’ all-time scorer list and has more than 400 appearances. Son has dated celebrities in the past but has vowed not to marry until he retires. “When you marry, the No 1 will be family, wife and kids, and then football. I want to make sure that while I play at the top level, football can be No 1,” said the South Korean. “My father says this and I agree.”
Érik Lamela
A divisive figure at Spurs who attracted adulation as well as controversy and frustration – Lamela was one of three Tottenham players to break coronavirus rules by attending a Christmas party. Scored arguably the best ever goal in a north London derby in 2021, with his rabona-nutmeg effort nominated for a Puskas Award. Left for Sevilla at the end of that season and won the Europa League in 2023, netting an extra-time winner in the semi-finals against Juventus before scoring in the penalty shootout in the final to deny Roma, the team he joined Spurs from.
Managers
Erik ten Hag
With so many of his Ajax players departing, it was perhaps a surprise that Ten Hag wasn’t also poached by one of Europe’s elite clubs. Instead, after two further Eredivisie titles, Manchester United came calling in 2022. Things have not gone to plan at Old Trafford, despite an outlay of more than £400m, a Carabao Cup triumph last season and the chance to win the FA Cup this month. Controversies around Antony and Jadon Sancho have complicated matters and a change of ownership has left Ten Hag’s future uncertain.
Mauricio Pochettino
Just five months after guiding Spurs to the Champions League final, Pochettino was sacked and replaced by Mourinho. After more than a year out of the game, the Argentinian was hired by PSG but finished second to Lille. A Ligue 1 title in 2021-22 was not enough to save Pochettino from the sack. After another nine months out, he joined Chelsea last summer, but a turbulent campaign has left the 52-year-old under pressure once more.