Ajax have to go through Champions League qualifying next season after being seconds from final
Dutch giants were only denied a place in the European Cup final by stoppage time Tottenham goal and beat Real Madrid and Juventus this season - but they do not even start in the group stages in the 2019/20 campaign
AJAX will have to enter the Champions League at the qualifying stage next season - despite being seconds from reaching this year's final.
The Dutch giants were only denied a date with Liverpool in Madrid by Lucas Moura's dramatic stoppage time goal which sent Tottenham through on away goals.
And brilliant victories over Real Madrid and Juventus have marked Ajax out as one of the best football sides on the Continent right now.
But those efforts count for nothing in next season's competition, with the club having to start all over again by needing to qualify for the group stages.
And if they do not hold off rivals PSV Eindhoven in the battle to be crowned Eredivisie champions next week, Erik ten Hag's side will have to begin their new European campaign in mid July.
Uefa arrange their tournaments based on the performances of member leagues over a period of time, with most successful nations being granted four automatic places in the group stages every year.
The champions of the top ten countries in the Uefa rankings secure automatic group-stage entry, with the remaining 45 title-winning sides from other leagues having to enter qualifying at different stages.
The Netherlands are only ranked down in 14th, below Switzerland, Austria and Turkey on the current coefficients.
And that means the Eredevisie champions are forced to enter in the third qualifying round - with those matches in the 2019/20 competition being played in the first week in August.
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But Ajax are not even guaranteed to win the Dutch title, where they are level on points with PSV with two matches left, although they do boast a superior goal difference.
And if they suffer any kind of hangover from their Tottenham disappointment and lose out to PSV, it means next season they will have to begin the Champions League in the second qualifying round.
Those matches are scheduled for July 23-24 - almost two months before the actual group stages begin in mid-September.