Ajax have confirmed that Daley Blind is returning to his boyhood club for a third spell, signing a one-year contract after leaving Girona as a free agent. The defender will join the squad straight away and is expected to add leadership to a group that finished the 2025-26 season under interim coach Oscar Garcia.

Blind first came through the Ajax academy and debuted for the senior side in 2008, before building a long relationship with the club. Ajax have now appointed Michel, Blind’s former head coach at Girona, as successor to Oscar Garcia, which sets up an immediate reunion between the pair in Amsterdam.

After impressing for the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup, Blind left Ajax for Manchester United. Blind spent four seasons at Old Trafford, where the versatile defender collected three major trophies. Those honours were the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the Europa League, before Blind decided to return to Ajax.

Blind’s second period at Ajax lasted four-and-a-half years and further strengthened his standing at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Across his first two spells, Blind played 333 matches and scored 13 goals for Ajax in all competitions. Blind helped secure seven Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cup wins, and now has the chance to improve those totals.

Across the last three years, Blind added experience from spells at Bayern Munich and Girona, following the end of the defender’s second stay in Amsterdam. That journey has now come full circle, with Ajax turning again to a player who knows the club’s structure well and has worked with Michel during a recent period in LaLiga.

Technical director Jordi Cruyff told the club’s website: “It’s great to welcome Daley back to the club where it all began for him.” Cruyff highlighted that Blind’s history, character and knowledge of Ajax make the deal logical for the club’s project, and fit the direction Ajax want to follow under Michel.