Why Edwin van der Sar won't be Man Utd's new Director of Football
Karan Tejwani
- 21 Oct 2022 19:10 BST
- 3 min read
Edwin van der Sar has been linked with a return to Manchester United, this time in a Director of Football role, but this move is a tad confusing.
Manchester United currently have John Murtough in the role, and he oversaw the club’s summer transfer activity, in conjunction with new manager Erik ten Hag.
However, there have now been links from Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur linking Van der Sar with a move back to Manchester United.
READ: Edwin Van der Sar's Ajax role explained
These reports are confusing because Van der Sar has no experience in the role he is being linked to – he has worked more on the business side of things with Ajax.
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Van der Sar returned to Ajax in 2012 and worked with their marketing team until 2016, when he took up his current role as Chief Executive Office with the Amsterdam club.
In his time, Marc Overmars worked as the Director of Football before his February departure, and he was replaced by the duo of Gerry Hamstra and former forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
READ: Ten Hag keen to "change culture" over rewarding new contracts
In his reign, Ajax have been successful, winning multiple domestic honours, as well as reaching the Europa League final and Champions League semi-final.
They’ve also developed a host of top stars in that time including Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Ryan Gravenberch and others.
Was Edwin van der Sar one of Sir Alex Ferguson's best-ever signings? 🧤
He moved to @ManUtd #OnThisDay in 2005! pic.twitter.com/cspw1UbnLK— Premier League (@premierleague) June 5, 2021
In September, Van der Sar extended his stay as CEO until 2025 and he spoke about the job he has at the club, as well as the joy he has in doing it.
“Every day I get to work with enthusiastic co-workers who also want to keep raising the bar. Not only with the first team, but also in the office, the youth academy, and the Ajax Women,” the former goalkeeper said.
“The stadium is always packed and the growth in sales of various Ajax kits to young and old, not only national but also international, is unreal.
“We feel the support of our fans home and away. Enough reasons to keep putting my heart and soul in this club [for] the coming years."
Van der Sar switching from CEO to Director of Football would be a major surprise given his lack of experience in the role he is being linked to, and such rumours can be brushed off.
