season, Babel netted his first league goal of the season on 20 August 2011 against Augsburg in a 2–0 away win. On 10 September 2011, he scored his first brace for 1899 Hoffenheim in a 4–0 win against Mainz 05 and scored again in the next game on 17 September in a 3–1 win over VfL Wolfsburg. After playing for Hoffenheim for 18 months, scoring six goals in 51 matches, he was released by the club on 31 August 2012. Return to Ajax After personally buying off the remaining year of his contract with Hoffenheim, he returned to his old club Ajax on a one-year deal. Wearing shirt number 49, the same number he wore when he made his first ever appearance for the first team at Ajax, he made his debut with Ajax for the 2012–13 season on 15 September 2012, in a regular season match against RKC Waalwijk. He came on as a substitute for Derk Boerrigter in the second half, assisting Jody Lukoki on the second goal in the 2–0 home win for the Amsterdam side. He scored his first goal since returning to Ajax in a match against ADO Den Haag on 23 September 2012. Struggling with a slight injury midway through the season, Babel managed to play a total of 16 league matches for Ajax, scoring four goals in total in the Eredivisie. He also made four appearances in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, as well as two more appearances in the 2012–13 KNVB Cup, where he scored the second goal in the '15-minute of the second round fixture against FC Utrecht, with the match ending 3–0 for the Amsterdam side prior to his injury. He would return to action after being sidelined to help his side secure their 3rd consecutive national title and 32nd overall. Later career Opting not to extend his contract with Ajax in order to make way for the next generation, Babel decided to join Turkish side Kasımpaşa where former Ajax player Shota Arveladze was the current manager. He was joined in Turkey by fellow Amsterdam-born defender Ryan Donk who made the transfer from Belgian side Club Brugge. Babel signed a contract with UAE Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain to replace the outgoing Miroslav Stoch. He signed the contract after passing a medical test on 2 July 2015. In December 2015, Al Ain and Babel were involved in a conflict