“That is true, because I really enjoy my work at Antwerp and I am still under contract there for another year and a half. I want to serve that commitment. Our aim was to make the club financially healthy. The stadium is ready and now we have to start building sports again.”
‘It’s over for me’
When asked, Overmars confirms that he has been approached to return. “That has already happened once, now again and by several people. By whom? Yes, these are people in important positions, but I’m not going to say who, because then it becomes another internal political game. It’s over for me.”
The comeback, which will therefore not take place, would mean a second chance for Overmars, who had to leave in February 2022 after reports of inappropriate behavior.
In the almost ten years before that, thanks to the arrival of Antony, Dusan Tadic, Daley Blind and Hakim Ziyech, he and Erik ten Hag built a team that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019. Including the corona year 2020, Overmars celebrated six championships during his time at Ajax. In addition, the director earned hundreds of millions of euros for the club through the sale of players such as Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek.
The famous belly slide after Ajax defeated Juventus in the Champions League in Turin in 2019. © Getty Images
‘The current situation hurts me very much’
The chaos at Ajax is close to the heart of the former player of Ajax, Arsenal, FC Barcelona and Oranje. “The current situation at the club hurts me very much. I have a hard time talking about it,” said the ex-international.
“I have worked there for ten years except for two months and we have built something beautiful together. When you see how things are going now and people just kill each other, it hurts. The respect I get from the supporters is good for me and I find it very nice. It’s true that I couldn’t have imagined that things would go this way. I read very little these days, but I was told that there were eight trainers after Erik. Well, that’s a Dutch record, I think.”
Overmars thinks it is unfair that general director Menno Geelen is being blamed by some. “Menno is top at his job. Only he needs good people around him. They can be happy at Ajax that he is still there.”
Marc Overmars in conversation with Dusan Tadic during their joint Ajax period. © Getty Images