Marcos Leonardo drew the wrath of a large section of the Ajax support within ten minutes on Thursday evening. Against FC Sion, the striker got two excellent chances to put the Amsterdammers ahead, but failed to make proper contact with the ball on both occasions.
Leonardo's first huge chance came in the sixth minute. After some fumbling in the FC Sion defence, Julian Brandt put the ball on a plate for him, but the forward swung completely over it and let a golden chance for 0-1 go begging.
Three minutes later, it went wrong again for Leonardo. Ajax put together another good move, but the striker slipped before he could make full contact with the ball, so his second attempt also posed hardly any danger. Leonardo had already gone through exactly the same thing on several occasions in previous matches for Ajax.
That immediately sparked a flood of critical reactions on, for example, Ajax Showtime. "Until now, as far as Leonardo is concerned, I was in the ‘give him time’ camp, but with every action that becomes more difficult," one supporter writes, while another concludes: "He is turning into a gigantic flop signing."
Others are also starting to openly doubt Leonardo's qualities. "I think we got the wrong Leonardo," one quips, while another visitor responds: "What kind of striker have we signed? This can’t be right, surely?" Yet another keeps it short: "Leonardo is officially a flop signing."
Part of the criticism comes from the substantial fee Ajax paid for Leonardo this summer. The Amsterdammers signed the 23-year-old Brazilian from Saudi side Al-Hilal in July for just under €20 million and tied him down to a five-year deal. "Still got the receipt for Leo?" one supporter says cynically, while another wonders: "Does he even have studs under his boots?"
Comparisons with previous disappointing Ajax signings are now being made too. "Leonardo is our Iván Gabrich ’26," one fan writes, after which another immediately agrees: "Exactly who I was thinking of: Gabrich." The former Argentine striker arrived in Amsterdam in 1996 and failed to score in ten league matches. He is known as one of the biggest flop signings in Ajax's history.
One cynical remark also read: "OK, now I’m really starting to wonder whether Jordi picked Leonardo up from a korfball court."