Despite being part of the old G14, I will always respect Ajax above all other clubs in Europe. Ajax are the reason City play the football we do, the reason we win trophies in the manner we do.
The great Barça teams and City under Pep are just copies of the Ajax system. From Cruyff to Michels to Reynolds all the way back in the early 1900s.
It’s a shame that clubs like Ajax, and to the same extent clubs like Galatasaray, Olympiacos, Legia Warsaw, Dynamo Kyiv etc. are just left behind by the rigged system that England, Spain, Italy and Germany have carved out for themselves.
The 2019 Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool was contested between two clubs who hadn’t won their First Division title for 58 years and 29 years, respectively… a combined 87 years.
The 2019 Championship Play-off Final between Aston Villa and Derby County was contested between two clubs who hadn’t won their First Division title for 38 years and 44 years, respectively… a combined 82 years.
That’s not right, for me. Ajax did get to the semifinals that season but Crystal Palace and Everton have higher revenues than Ajax.
And even if Ajax were part of the old G14 and were part of the move to bring in FFP, it’s not exactly like City fans can say a lot about that since we were a club that jumped at the chance to join the European Super League, that didn’t even include the likes of Ajax yet did include ourselves, Arsenal and Spurs, three clubs who had never even won the Champions League/European Cup at that point, and Ajax had won more European trophies than City, Arsenal and Spurs combined.
I know that the Dutch and Belgian leagues have talked about joining and becoming a Dutch-Belgian Super League to create more revenue for their clubs. Even if that comes into fruition, I don’t see how they’ll compete at the top with the rigged clubs/leagues. Ajax will pretty much be stuck where they are now as a club.
