Branco van den Boomen (born 21 July 1995) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax.[3]

Branco van den Boomen
Van den Boomen with Toulouse in 2020
Personal information
Full name Branco van den Boomen
Date of birth (1995-07-21) 21 July 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Veldhoven, Netherlands[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Ajax
Number 21
Youth career
0000–2004 RKVVO
2004–2011 Willem II/RKC Waalwijk
2011–2013 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Jong Ajax 15 (1)
2014–2015 Eindhoven 37 (4)
2015–2017 Heerenveen 23 (1)
2016–2017Willem II (loan) 8 (0)
2017–2019 Eindhoven 76 (17)
2019–2020 De Graafschap 24 (5)
2020–2023 Toulouse 107 (22)
2023– Ajax 28 (2)
International career
2011–2012 Netherlands U17 12 (2)
2012 Netherlands U18 4 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Netherlands
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner 2012 Slovenia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:30, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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Ajax

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Born in Eindhoven, Van den Boomen began his football career in the youth ranks of RKVVO in Oerle, before moving to nearby Willem II/RKC Waalwijk in 2004. He then joined the famed Ajax Youth Academy signing his first professional contract, a three-year deal with Ajax on 4 March 2011.[4]

Van den Boomen began the 2013–14 season playing for Ajax A1, the under-19 team, playing in the Nike A-Juniors Eredivisie. He also competed in three matches in the UEFA Youth League while scoring once against AC Milan U19, which earned him a berth with the club's reserves squad Jong Ajax competing in the Eerste Divisie, the 2nd tier of professional football in the Netherlands. He made his debut for Jong Ajax on 11 November 2013 in a match against De Graafschap, coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Wang Chengkuai who also made his debut in the same match. The match ended in a 2–1 loss at home for Jong Ajax.[5] Van den Boomen scored his first professional goal in an away match against SC Telstar, scoring in the 3rd minute of the 3–1 loss. In January 2014 it was announced that Van den Boomen had officially been promoted to the Jong Ajax squad, and would not return to the club's youth ranks.[6]

FC Eindhoven

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On 19 June 2014, it was announced that Van den Boomen had signed with FC Eindhoven as a free transfer, returning to his city of birth, signing a three-year contract with the club.[7] He made his first appearance for his new club on 15 August 2014 in a 3–0 home win against FC Emmen.[8]

Toulouse

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On 7 August 2020, Van den Boomen left the Netherlands for the first time in his career and joined French club Toulouse, who had been relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing 20th during the 2019–20 Ligue 1 season. Toulouse agreed to a €350,000 transfer fee with De Graafschap.[9] Van den Boomen became the second Dutch player to join Toulouse after Rob Rensenbrink.[10]

In the 2020–21 season, Van den Boomen became one of the key players of the Toulouse midfield also composed of Stijn Spierings and Brecht Dejaegere, scoring five goals and making seven assists.[11] The 2021–22 season saw Van den Boomen massively improve his numbers, scoring twelve goals and assisting a league-record twenty-one.[12][13]

Return to Ajax

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On 29 May 2023, Van den Boomen signed a pre-contract agreement with Eredivisie club Ajax, where he spent three years in his early career. He signed a four-year deal running from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2027.[14]

Career statistics

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As of match played 28 November 2024[3][15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Ajax 2013–14 Eerste Divisie 15 1 15 1
Eindhoven 2014–15 Eerste Divisie 37 4 1 0 2[b] 0 40 4
Heerenveen 2015–16 Eredivisie 23 1 0 0 23 1
Willem II (loan) 2016–17 Eredivisie 8 0 1 0 9 0
Eindhoven 2017–18 Eerste Divisie 37 2 2 0 39 2
2018–19 Eerste Divisie 36 11 1 0 37 11
2019–20 Eerste Divisie 3 4 0 0 3 4
Total 76 17 3 0 0 0 0 0 79 17
De Graafschap 2019–20 Eerste Divisie 24 5 1 0 25 5
Toulouse 2020–21 Ligue 2 35 5 2 0 3[c] 0 40 5
2021–22 Ligue 2 37 12 4 0 41 12
2022–23 Ligue 1 35 5 5 1 40 5
Total 107 22 11 1 0 0 3 0 121 24
Ajax 2023–24 Eredivisie 21 2 0 0 8[d] 1 29 3
2024–25 Eredivisie 7 0 0 0 11[e] 2 18 2
Total 28 2 0 0 19 3 0 0 46 5
Career total 318 52 17 1 19 3 5 0 359 56
  1. ^ Includes KNVB Cup, Coupe de France
  2. ^ Appearances in Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in Ligue 2 promotion play-offs
  4. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, three appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

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Toulouse

Individual

References

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  1. ^ Elfrink, Rik (26 December 2022). "Veldhovenaar Branco van den Boomen staat in de belangstelling van het Turkse Galatasaray". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Branco van den Boomen | Toulouse FC". Toulouse FC. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b Branco van den Boomen at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ "Ajax legt talentvolle jeugdspeler vast". Ajax.nl. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Jong Ajax 1-2 De Graafschap". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Van den Boomen sluit aan bij Jong Ajax". Ajax Showtime. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Van den Boomen tekent bij FC Eindhoven". Ajax Showtime. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  8. ^ "FC Eindhoven 3-0 FC Emmen". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  9. ^ Willemsen, Raymond (7 August 2020). "Branco van den Boomen voor 3 jaar naar Toulouse FC". De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Branco van den Boomen, nouveau milieu de terrain du TFC". Toulouse FC (in French). 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Branco van den Boomen » Ligue 2 2020/2021". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Toulouse – Branco Van den Boomen entretient le flou sur son avenir". MaLigue2 (in French). 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Van den Boomen evenaart Messi en Müller met 21ste assist en promoveert naar Ligue 1". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 26 April 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Ajax sign Branco van den Boomen". Ajax. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  15. ^ Branco van den Boomen at Soccerway
  16. ^ Mayen, Philippe (29 April 2023). "Ô Toulouse... FC !" [O Toulouse...FC!!]. FFF - Fédération Française de Football (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Le Toulouse Football Club est champion de Ligue 2 BKT" [Toulouse Football Club is Ligue 2 BKT champion] (in French). Toulouse FC. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  18. ^ UNFP [@UNFP] (15 May 2022). "Un onze-type qui a vu la vie en rose cette saison, ne cuvée 2021-2022 qui a fière allure, n'est-ce pas" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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