Shares in Ajax fell by more than a fifth on Thursday after a shock Tottenham Hotspur comeback sent the Dutch football club crashing out of Europe's Champions League.
A second-half hat-trick from Brazilian Lucas Moura handed the London side a ticket to the final of club football's biggest competition, a stunning turnaround after Tottenham trailed 3-0 on aggregate at half time.
Ajax shares had been on a run since the team's last-16 triumph over Real Madrid in March, rising more than 60 per cent. They hit an all-time high on Wednesday, breaking through the €25 mark, before closing at €23.50, as investors banked on the Amsterdam club making it to the final.
But a 96th-minute goal from Moura on Wednesday night put Tottenham through on away goals and sent Ajax’s stock tumbling to trade at €18.40 early on Thursday, a 22 per cent drop from the previous close.
The Champions League exit knocked almost €100 million from Ajax’s market capitalisation, which slumped from €431 million to €337 million.
Uefa, European football’s governing body, pays out about €2 billion to clubs in the competition, with an appearance in the finals bringing a €15 million payout. The winner of the trophy earns a further €4 million. Clubs gain major marketing exposure from playing in, and winning, high-profile European games.
Tottenham will take on Liverpool in an all-English Champions League final on June 1st in Madrid. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2019
