for a slide tackle on Manuel Schmiedebach of Hannover 96. The German Football Association (DFB) gave him a six-match ban, which Schalke appealed. On 10 March 2015, Huntelaar scored twice against former club Real Madrid in a 3–4 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu. He had not scored a league goal since November 2014, after going over 1,000 minutes and 13 games without scoring. This has led to some minor criticism over his performance in the current season from his fans and the team's coach. This goalless run, however, ended on 2 May 2015, when he scored an equaliser against VfB Stuttgart. Huntelaar finished the season with 14 goals in 37 matches. On 8 August 2015, Huntelaar marked his 2015–16 season debut by scoring in a 0–5 win at MSV Duisburg in the first round of the German Cup. Huntelaar finished the 2015–16 season with 16 goals in 40 matches. Due to injuries and a drop in form, during the 2016–17 Bundesliga season Huntelaar only made 16 appearances in the league (7 starts, 9 appearances from the bench), and overall 24 appearances in all competitions (10 starts, 14 appearances from the bench), scoring a total of only five goals, his lowest season goal tally at Schalke 04. Return to Ajax On 1 June 2017, Ajax confirmed that they had re-signed Huntelaar. In 2019, he won with Ajax the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield; in addition, he played in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, in which his team reached the semi-finals. On 12 December 2020, Huntelaar announced that he would retire at the end of the 2020–21 season. On 14 January 2021, Huntelaar scored twice within three minutes of coming on as a substitute to give Ajax a 3–1 win over FC Twente. Return to Schalke 04 On 19 January 2021, Schalke 04 confirmed that they had signed Huntelaar until the end of the season. With his goal in the 1–2 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on 3 April 2021, he became Schalke's oldest Bundesliga goalscorer at the age of 37 years and 234 days. International career Youth Huntelaar played in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship for the Netherlands under coach Louis van Gaal. He scored two goals in the tournament before the Dutch were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Egypt. After scoring 44 goals in 47 appearances for Heerenveen and Ajax in all competitions during 2005–06, Huntelaar was named