Ajax footballer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 37, announced this Saturday that he will hang up his boots at the end of the season to spend more time with his family.
“I have thought about the matter for the last month because the moment is approaching. I think this season is the last for me,” Huntelaar told Fox Sports. after Ajax's victory this Saturday against Zwolle (4-0).
“I'm going to keep playing really hard until the end of the season. After? I can't say. I think I'll finish my studies, but first I want to take a break and spend a few months at home with the family, “added the forward known as the hunter.
Huntelaar, who has a contract until summer 2021, he played his first game of the season as a starter this Saturday and scored the first goal of the Amsterdam team's victory at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
“Never say never, but this is so. My body ends up exhausted sometimes. Playing football is the best and I really enjoy training, but I know what my role is at Ajax. If we hadn't had so many injured teammates, I wouldn't have played the 90 minutes today “, commented the forward.
Huntelaar began his professional career in the 2002-03 season with PSV Eindhoven and, after passing through various Dutch clubs, he made the leap to international football and signed for teams such as Real Madrid, Milan and Schalke 04.
He has played for the Dutch national team 76 times, most recently in 2015, and scored 42 goals. He was the top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie with Ajax in the 2005/06 season and in the 2007/08 season, scoring 33 goals in both.