The Shares of AFC Ajax crashed by as much as 21 percent on Thursday, after Tottenham Hotspur‘s shock comeback sent the Dutch football club crashing out of Europe’s Champions League.
Report shows that Ajax‘s stock fell in early Amsterdam trading, erasing a rally of about the same amount that followed the Club’s last week victory at White Hart Lane in London.
Ajax Shares rally since the win over Madrid – Ajax‘s shares had been on a run since their March quarter-final triumph over Real Madrid, rising more than 60 percent. The club hit an all-time high on Wednesday, breaking through the €25 mark, before closing at €23.50, as investors were hopeful that the Amsterdam club would push through to the final.
Report shows that the Champions League exit knocked almost €100m from Ajax’s market capitalisation after it fell from €431m to €337m.
Specifically, before Thursday morning’s fall, Ajax‘s shares had rallied over 50% since March as the team went deeper into the European competition. However, Spurs staged a remarkable comeback in the second half, thanks to a hat-trick from Brazilian, Lucas Moura. Moura’s 96th-minute goal-scoring tied the game on an aggregate and qualified Tottenham for the final in Madrid on away goals.
Ajax Shares still up despite being ousted – Despite crashing out of the competition in the cruellest manner imaginable to football fans, Ajax‘s shares remain up about 52% over the past year. In addition to this, the European football’s governing body, UEFA, pays out about €2bn to clubs in the competition, with an appearance in the finals bringing a €15m payout. The winner of the trophy earns a further €4m.
Other big European clubs witnessed Shares fall after exit – Ajax is not the only football team to have witnessed dramatic swings in their share prices based on their results on the pitch.
Italian football, Juventus‘ shares plummeted as much as 24 percent in April, the most since the stock started trading in December 2001. This happened after the Italian team was knocked out of the Champions League.
Ajax’s struggle to overcome 22-year hurdle – Note that Ajax’s semifinal loss is coming after the club struggled for 22 years to qualify for a semifinal at the Champions League. Had it successfully gone through the semifinal, it would have been their club’s first Champions League final since 1996 when it lost to Juventus. The Amsterdam squad last won the elite league tournament in 1995.
