On April 23, 2021, the deal was announced. Pasveer joined Ajax on a free transfer from Vitesse and officially became an Ajax player on July 1, 2021. The goalkeeper signed a two-year contract. "Go full throttle and then we'll see," were his words at the time. Four and a half seasons later, his role has turned out to be bigger than initially expected.
First season
His debut was not a true reflection of what would follow: Pasveer and Ajax lost 0–4 to PSV in the Johan Cruijff Shield. The away match against PEC Zwolle, in round four, marked his league debut. Two Ajax goals and a clean sheet were the outcome of Pasveer’s first Ajax appearance in the domestic competition. The goalkeeper then played every Eredivisie match without interruption, but missed the climax in which Ajax won the title due to a broken finger. In his first season, the keeper featured in twenty Eredivisie matches, one Dutch Cup tie, the Johan Cruijff Shield and six UEFA Champions League games.
In those matches at the highest European level, he made an impression. With stylish saves, he denied, among others, Erling Haaland, then Borussia Dortmund's striker, several times. His proud father Eddie Pasveer saw that too. "Those moments against Haaland are unforgettable, they stay with you forever. And they were also very decisive for him personally," father Pasveer said shortly before his son entered the Club of 100.
Statistics
Statistically, his first season was also his best. Of the 28 matches, Pasveer won 22, lost three and drew three. His win percentage was over 78 per cent. A closer look at that season shows that, since the 2010/2011 campaign, Pasveer by some distance has the highest save percentage for a goalkeeper with at least five Eredivisie appearances in a season: 90.2 per cent.
After Pasveer's second season, the tally stood at fifteen league matches, six Champions League games and one Dutch Cup match. Despite not always being assured of a starting place in the second half of that season, the goalkeeper extended his contract by a year without hesitation.
"I still enjoy the game, and especially here at Ajax. That is the main reason I extended my contract. I want to keep doing this for as long as possible," said Pasveer, almost forty years old at the time, with a big smile in front of the camera just after the ink had dried. He did the same again a year later. Ajax had come off a poor season, but the experienced Pasveer was combative after extending his contract by another year. “We’ve had a bad year. I want to be part of an Ajax that is heading in the right direction again,” he said in the summer of 2024.
Successful with Farioli
Pasveer became part of an Ajax side that found an upward trajectory. In the 2024/2025 season, Francesco Farioli called on him 43 times, more than any other coach who selected Pasveer. The coach who brought him in, Erik ten Hag, used him 28 times, Alfred Schreuder 21 times, John Heitinga five times and Fred Grim three times.
Last season, the goalkeeper grew into an experienced leader of the group and, statistically, played his three best matches under the Italian coach. In both the home match against Galatasaray and the home tie against Union Saint-Gilloise in the UEFA Europa League, he made eight saves. Against Galatasaray, he prevented 2.15 goals according to the statistics; against the Belgians, the figure was 1.96. Against PEC Zwolle, this number was 1.77. His average was also high during the fine match against Borussia Dortmund in 2021: 1.61.
Records
Early that season, Pasveer also claimed a special record: he became the oldest Ajax player to appear in an official match for the club, surpassing Maarten Stekelenburg. After a season in which Ajax finished second, Pasveer’s tally stood at 93 matches for Ajax’s first team. That hundredth appearance was a must, especially after another one-year extension.
Away to Excelsior Maassluis in the Dutch Cup, Pasveer joined the Club of 100. At 42 years and 39 days old, Pasveer not only broke his own record as Ajax’s oldest active player, he also became the only player to join the Club of 100 at Ajax after his fortieth birthday. Before Pasveer, the oldest Ajax player to enter the Club of 100 was Grim. Pasveer’s current Ajax coach achieved that milestone in 2001 at the age of 36.
Club of 100
In those hundred matches, he most often shared the pitch with one of the other members of the Club of 100: Steven Berghuis. The goalkeeper played 79 matches alongside the attacking midfielder. Davy Klaassen follows with 77 and was the only one from the top three to be on the pitch with Pasveer during the jubilee match. Kenneth Taylor completes the top three with 74 matches. It is no surprise that Pasveer also most frequently left the pitch as a winner together with Berghuis: 53 times.
Looking at all of Pasveer’s Eredivisie matches for Ajax (since 2021/2022), he ranks fourth among all goalkeepers in terms of passing accuracy. Only Gerónimo Rulli, Walter Benítez and Justin Bijlow are ahead of him. In addition, Heinz Stuy is the only goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet in a higher percentage of his league matches for Ajax (53.2 per cent) than Remko Pasveer: 50.8 per cent.
One hundred matches, 45 clean sheets, one league title and a wealth of experience, leadership, humour and discipline, that is what Pasveer brought to Amsterdam. Now he departs for Heracles, the club where, as a young goalkeeper, he took his first steps in professional football. Thank you for everything, Remko!
