Owen Wijndal's Ajax Journey: From Exit to Resurgence

Owen Wijndal was supposed to be gone by now.

Last summer, Ajax had effectively closed his chapter. Four seasons in, his name was on the outgoing list, his future seemingly elsewhere. He had even said goodbye to his team-mates. Then, at the last moment, the move collapsed and the left-back stayed put in Amsterdam.

Today, he is not only still there, he is back in the team and back in form.

“I've had to fight my way back a few times already,” Wijndal told De Telegraaf. “Of course I'm happy with how things are going now. But at the same time, I know how football works. You're only as good as your last match.”

That last match standard has defined his recent months. When technical director Jordi Cruyff signed two new left-backs, Caio Henrique and Jofre Torrents, the message felt brutally clear. Ajax were planning for a future without him. His current resurgence did not just look unlikely, it looked almost impossible.

Inside the club, Ajax were open to ending it. They explored terminating his contract, a rare and stark step for a player of his profile. With farewells already said in the dressing room, Wijndal was as good as gone.

Then everything stalled. The transfer broke down. He stayed.

From the outside, the story quickly hardened: Wijndal was clinging on because of a generous salary. Behind the scenes, that line followed him around the club corridors and into the stands.

He has heard enough of it.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! The salary, right?” he said, laughing, when the subject came up. “I do hear that a lot, but it really isn't true. I can earn good money at other clubs too. If money had been the most important thing, I'd have left long ago.”

He pushed the point again, more firmly.

“That story about my salary simply isn't true. I stayed because I wanted to be at Ajax and because I still wanted to show what I can do here. That has always been my motivation.”

That motivation now drives what feels like a second career at the same club. A player who had been eased towards the exit is suddenly part of the conversation again, not as a problem to solve, but as an option on the pitch.

For Wijndal, this is not a farewell tour. He does not talk like someone counting down the days on his deal. His contract runs until mid-2027, and he is already looking beyond that – if Ajax are willing.

His stance is simple: if they ask, he will listen.

He smiles at the idea of an extension after everything that has happened.

“It would be quite funny, considering everything that has happened over the past few years. Of course I would think about it if Ajax want me to stay.”

There is, however, no offer on the table. No talks. No hints.

“I've been here quite a long time now. But I haven't heard anything yet, and as long as that's the case, there's little point in thinking about it too much.”

So he plays, he fights, and he waits. Ajax once tried to draw a line under his story. Now, with his contract stretching to 2027 and his form returning, the real question hangs over the club, not the player: how long can they afford to keep this chapter open?