Daley Blind begins third spell in Amsterdam

"Daley's coming home." Those were the words accompanying the welcome video when Blind returned to Ajax in the summer of 2018. Eight years later, he is embarking on his fourth spell at the club.

Let's go back to where it all began. In the summer of 1998, nine-year-old Blind joined Ajax's academy, starting in the E2 youth team. Around the same period, he walked onto the pitch hand in hand with his father, Danny Blind, during the latter's farewell match. From there, Blind progressed through every level of the Ajax academy. That marked the beginning of his first spell.

His first spell truly took shape with his first-team debut on December 7, 2008, away to FC Volendam. Blind was 18 years and 273 days old at the time. Looking at this century, he was the fifth-youngest player to make an Eredivisie appearance for Ajax. Only John Heitinga, Nigel de Jong, Thomas Vermaelen and Jelle Van Damme were younger when they made their league debuts for the club.

During his debut Eredivisie season, Blind made five appearances, playing a total of 175 minutes. His first league title arrived while he was spending the second half of the 2009/2010 campaign on loan at FC Groningen. From January until June 2010, the Ajax youngster gained valuable experience in the north of the Netherlands. Before that loan spell, he had already featured 18 times for Ajax that season: ten Eredivisie matches, plus four appearances in both the Dutch Cup and the UEFA Europa League.

Blind returns from Groningen and established himself under Frank de Boer. Initially deployed at left-back before later excelling as a holding midfielder, he became one of the key figures in the side that won four consecutive league titles. Blind was part of each championship-winning team in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. During that period, he also lifted the Johan Cruijff Shield. Following an impressive FIFA World Cup in Brazil, he completed a move to Manchester United in the summer of 2014.

After four seasons at Old Trafford, 141 appearances for Manchester United and silverware including the UEFA Europa League, Blind returned to Ajax in 2018. His second spell proved to be another successful chapter. He became one of the leaders in Erik ten Hag's Ajax side that reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the 2018/2019 season while also winning both the Eredivisie title and the Dutch Cup. In 2019, he added another Johan Cruijff Shield to his honours, scoring in the victory over PSV.

With his incisive passing, outstanding vision and winning mentality, Blind played a vital role in one of the strongest Ajax teams of recent years. A year later, when the season was halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ajax sat top of the Eredivisie table. In each of his final two full seasons at the club, he once again lifted the league trophy. That brought his total number of Dutch league titles to seven. Only Sjaak Swart and Johan Cruijff, with eight championships each, have won more Eredivisie titles as Ajax players. Blind shares third place with Wim Suurbier and Barry Hulshoff.

In February 2022, Blind became the Ajax player with the most appearances in the UEFA Champions League. He scored once in the competition, against Borussia Dortmund at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in October 2021, moving ahead of Jari Litmanen (42 appearances) and Edwin van der Sar (38).

At the end of 2022, Blind embarked on another adventure abroad. After playing 27,138 minutes across all competitions, making 304 starts in 333 appearances and scoring 13 goals for Ajax, he signed for Bayern Munich, where he spent six months.

In the summer of 2023, Blind joined Girona FC, managed by Míchel Sánchez, who is now Ajax's head coach. The centre-back quickly became one of the Spaniard's most trusted players. Under Míchel, Blind started 102 of the club's 108 matches. Since arriving at Girona, only goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga (9,718) has played more minutes in La Liga than Blind (8,360). During that period, Blind also completed the most forward passes of any outfield player in Spain's top flight, with 2,716.

Now, as of Wednesday, Blind is back in Amsterdam to begin his third spell at Ajax. Looking at all Eredivisie matches since 2001, only Davy Klaassen (281) has made more league appearances for Ajax than Blind (226). The top five is completed by Maarten Stekelenburg (210), Lasse Schöne (201) and Siem de Jong (193).

With 333 official appearances for Ajax's first team, seven Eredivisie titles, two Dutch Cups and two Johan Cruijff Shields, an enormous wealth of experience returns to Amsterdam. Above all, though, a true Ajacied is home again.