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.
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.
Ryan Babel