Bayern Signs Morocco’s Mazraoui on Free Transfer from Ajax

Ajax's Noussair Mazraoui runs during the Dutch Eredivisie premier league match between Ajax and Heerenveen at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP)
Ajax's Noussair Mazraoui runs during the Dutch Eredivisie premier league match between Ajax and Heerenveen at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP)
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Bayern Signs Morocco’s Mazraoui on Free Transfer from Ajax

Ajax's Noussair Mazraoui runs during the Dutch Eredivisie premier league match between Ajax and Heerenveen at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP)
Ajax's Noussair Mazraoui runs during the Dutch Eredivisie premier league match between Ajax and Heerenveen at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP)

Bayern Munich picked up Morocco right back Noussair Mazraoui on a free transfer from Ajax on Tuesday in the club’s first signing of the offseason.

The Bavarian club said in a statement that the 24-year-old Mazraoui signed a four-year deal through June 2026. There’s no transfer fee due to Ajax because his contract was to expire.

"Mazraoui is the next building block as we continue to strengthen our team in a targeted way," Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn said. "We have big aims again for the new season."

Bayern won the Bundesliga for a record-extending 10th consecutive season this year but disappointed in the Champions League and German Cup.

Mazraoui joined the Ajax academy in 2013 and made his first-team debut in 2018. He made 137 competitive appearances for the Dutch team, scoring 10 goals. Mazraoui has also scored once in 12 appearances for the Moroccan national team.

Bayern had been looking for a defender for the right side of the field since Hansi Flick was coach before Julian Nagelsmann took over ahead of last season. Nagelsmann can now move French defender Benjamin Pavard, who had been playing on the right, back into his preferred central position.

Bayern had a vacancy there since Niklas Süle opted to move to Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer.

Bayern is also reportedly working on bringing in 19-year-old midfielder Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax. Gravenberch’s contract runs through June 2023, however, meaning the clubs will need to agree to a transfer fee.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer extended his contract with the Bavarian club to 2024 on Monday.



Wimbledon Announces Record $73M Prize Fund, $4M for Singles Champions

12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
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Wimbledon Announces Record $73M Prize Fund, $4M for Singles Champions

12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa

Wimbledon’s prize money has risen to a record 53.5 million pounds (about $73 million) and the singles champions will each earn three million pounds ($4 million), All England Club officials announced on Thursday.

The total amount is 3.5 million pounds ($6.8 million) more than last year, an increase of 7% — and exactly twice the pot handed out to competitors at the grass-court Grand Slam 10 years ago.

“We’re immensely proud of the fact that if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year,” All England chair Deborah Jevans said. “And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players.”

The 2025 winners’ checks represent an 11.1% jump on last year’s prizes for the men’s and women’s singles champions and comes amid growing player demands for a bigger share of grand slam profits.

Players who lose in the first round of singles will get 66,000 pounds, up 10% year on year, The Associated Press reported.

“The focus on just the prize money at four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is for tennis,” Jevans added.

“The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don’t have an offseason which they want, they have increasing injuries that they’re speaking about, and we’ve always said that we as Wimbledon are willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions, and that door remains open.”

Wimbledon starts on June 30 and runs until July 13. For the first time in the oldest Grand Slam, line judges will be replaced with electronic line-calling.