Chelsea-bound Hakim Ziyech first ever to win Ajax Player of the Year three times!

On Friday, Hakim Ziyech was named Player of the Year for Ajax Amsterdam for the cancelled 2019-20 season. While the Eredivisie will not award a title or hold relegation or promotion due to the COVID-19 pandemic, individual awards are still going ahead, and Ziyech won this one for the third year in a row!

Since the award’s inception in 1993, no player had won it three times, let alone three times in a row, which is saying something considering Ajax’s rich history of cultivating supreme talent. Twice-winners include the likes of Cristian Chivu, Maarten Stekelenburg, Jasper Cillessen, and Luis Suárez.

Despite the circumstances, Ziyech did manage to crack a joke at the expense of his soon-to-be former teammates.

“This is never boring, such a prize. The others should have done better.”

-Hakim Ziyech; source: Ajax via Football Oranje

Don’t worry, Hakim. Your competition next season will be even tougher!

If you haven’t seen this yet, here’s an excellent video from Ajax about “The Wizard of AMS” (turn on subtitles for English).