Champions League veteran Dusan Tadić joins Dutch club NEC Nijmegen ahead of qualifying rounds

NIJMEGEN, Netherlands (AP) — Former Ajax playmaker Dusan Tadic returned to the Netherlands on Monday to join NEC Nijmegen which starts in the Champions League qualifying rounds next week.

NEC said the 37-year-old Tadić — who captained Serbia at the 2022 World Cup — signed a two-year contract.

NEC was a surprise third-place finisher in the Dutch league last season to earn its first season in European competitions since 2009. The club faces Olympiakos in the Champions League third qualifying round with the first leg in Greece next week.

Tadić starred in Ajax’s stellar run to the Champions League semifinals in 2019, eliminating Juventus and title holder Real Madrid with second-leg wins on the road. He scored and had two assists in a signature 4-1 win at Madrid in the quarterfinals.

NEC is Tadić’s fourth Dutch club with spells at Groningen and Twente before he spent four years in the Premier League with Southampton. He was a free agent after one season with Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi.

He retired from the Serbia national team with a record 111 appearances after the 2024 European Championship.

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