Ajax has crashed out of the Champions League and now the Dutch football club’s share price is crashing too.
Shares in AFC Ajax which is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, fell by as much as 21.5% at the open on Thursday after Ajax were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Tottenham Hotspur FC on Wednesday evening.
Ajax played Spurs in the second leg of the Champions League final at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. The Dutch league leaders went into the second leg with a 1-0 lead and scored two goals in the first half of Wednesday’s clash.
However, Spurs staged a remarkable comeback in the second half thanks to a hat-trick from Lucas Moura. Moura’s 96th-minute winner tied the game on aggregate but meant Tottenham went through on away goals.
As well as crushing Ajax’s Champions League hopes, the defeat is bad news for investors who were betting that a Champions League win for the Dutch underdogs would reap big rewards in the form of sponsorships, winnings, transfer fees, and more.
Before Thursday morning’s fall, Ajax shares had rallied over 50% since March as the team went deeper in the European competition. The share price is still 23% higher than it was at the start of March despite Thursday’s fall.
Ajax is not the only football team to see dramatic swings in their share price based on their results on the pitch. Shares in Italian football club Juventus fell by 18% in April after Ajax knocked Cristiano Ronaldo’s team out of the Champions League.
