Huntelaar moved to SC Heerenveen in 2004 where he scored 17 goals in his debut season and helped Heerenveen qualify for the UEFA Cup. Next he was signed by Dutch giant Ajax Amsterdam who paid a reported $12 million for the striker. He played for Amsterdam for two years and was the league’s top scorer in both seasons, scoring an incredible 76 goals in 92 games. In January 2009, Real Madrid signed Huntelaar to replace their injured captain Raúl. He got off to a difficult start at Madrid, ultimately scoring 8 goals in his 20 league games and leaving Madrid after 6 months, citing that Madrid’s new coach, Pelligrini, would not let him play. Italian club AC Milan signed Huntelaar to a 4-year contract in the summer of 2009, but he never fit on Milan´s team. He then transferred to German Bundesliga team Schalke 04 in 2010, which would turn out be the best part of his career outside of the Netherlands, including winning the German national cup with Schalke in 2011. He was also the best goal scorer of the Bundesliga during the 2011/2012 season.
