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Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar has signed a new three-year contract with Ajax as their chief executive officer.
As per The Mirror, the Red Devils were looking to bring in the Dutchman to take up a similar role at Old Trafford. However, Van der Sar has decided to stay at the Eredivisie giants.
The former Manchester United goalkeeper has worked with current Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag and players Antony and Lisandro Martinez. A reunion could have seen some cohesive structure at the club, which has been heavily criticised in recent years.
However, Van der Sar said that he's enjoying his role and life at Ajax, telling The Athletic:
"I just renewed my contract for another three years - although next week we have a shareholders' meeting where they have to agree that contract (the contract has since been officially agreed)."
He added:
"I’ve been here 10 years. I enjoy my life here. I live right on the beach, half an hour from here. It’s work; it’s hard, but it’s rewarding. We will see what happens in the future."
Van der Sar played 266 games for Manchester United, winning numerous trophies, including four Premier League titles. He retired in 2011 and joined Ajax as sporting director in 2012 before being promoted to CEO four years later.
Cristiano Ronaldo laments Manchester United's lack of progress
Cristiano Ronaldo recently gave an explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he slammed the club for multiple reasons. He claimed that he felt betrayed by the club and questioned their recruitment decisions.
The Portuguese ace also spoke about how the club has failed to make any progress since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013. He said:
"I don’t know what is going on, but since Sir Alex Ferguson left, I saw no evolution in the club, the progress was zero ... Nothing changed. Surprisingly. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym … Even some points, the technology, the kitchen, the chefs, which is, I appreciate, lovely persons."
He added:
"They stopped in a time, which surprised me a lot. I thought I will see different things … different, as I mentioned before, technology, infrastructure. But unfortunately, we see many things that I used to see when I was 20, 21, 23. So, it surprised me a lot.”
Manchester United haven't won the Premier League since Ferguson's retirement. Their last trophy came in 2017 when they won the UEFA Europa League.
