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Daley Blind returned to Ajax one and a half years ago. After four years at Manchester United, the renewed ambition of Ajax convinced him to come back. In an interview with Dutch magazine Helden Daley Blind talks about his future and about the memorable last season: ‘If a nice opportunity abroad comes by I’ll certainly think about it, but extending my contract at Ajax is also something I’d like to happen. I can see myself playing here for years.’

Blind whose contract runs until the summer of 2022 is happy in Amsterdam: ‘I love the city and being close to my family.’ His father Danny who played for Ajax in the successful mid-90s ended his career at Ajax after 13 years in Amsterdam. ‘Lately, I had a discussion with my dad about if I would be able to catch up with him. He stopped when he was 37-years old, I’m 29 now. I’m quite sure I’ll play till that age too.’

Blind continues talking about the end of his career: ‘I want to get my trainers license, but don’t see myself as a head coach. I’m more the assistant-coach type of guy. Being in business doesn’t suit me at all. I don’t think I’ll be happy sitting at a desk all day long.’ In the summer of 2018 Blind returned at Ajax after he found out that the ambition at the club was sky-high: ‘everything, they told me showed their eagerness to return to the top of Europe. Before, all we spoke about at Ajax was winning the Eredivisie, now we were talking about playing a significant role in Europe.’

Despite the success of Ajax last season, the team went through some rough stages. ‘After the winter break, we had a difficult period and started asking ourselves questions like: How can we turn this around? Are we really as good as we think?’ Blind says when he reflects on last season. The 1-2 defeat in the Champions League against Real Madrid was a huge turning point, after which Ajax continued to the semi-finals of Europe’s most renowned competition. ‘From that moment on we really became a team and had a total belief in ourselves.’

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