Van der Sar departs Ajax
Published
Edwin van der Sar's time at Ajax is over.
The Manchester United icon announced his departure as chief executive on Tuesday.
Van der Sar, 52, joined the club in 2012 as a member of the board before becoming chief executive in 2016.
Ajax finished third in Eridivisie and will miss out on the Champions League for the first time since 2009.
"We have experienced wonderful things together, but it has also been an incredibly tough period," van de Sar said in a statement. "I feel the need to take some distance, to get some rest and to do other things. It doesn't feel good to take decisions about the future of this wonderful club in the coming period. That is why I have decided to resign."
Van der Sar is the latest high-profile departure from the club in recent seasons. Erik ten Hag left the team after four-plus years at the end of last season to become manager of United. Among players sold by the club over the past transfer windows include Brazil winger Antony, Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech, Argentina centre-back Lisandro Martinez and Cote d'Ivoire striker Sebastien Haller.
A native of Voorhout, Netherlands, van der Sar was a product of the Ajax academy and spent nine seasons with the club, winning four league titles and the 1995 Champions League. After stops at Juventus and Fulham, van der Sar finished his career with six seasons at Old Trafford where he won four Premier League titles, two League Cups and the 2008 Champions League title.
Internationally, he was capped 130 times by the Oranje from 1995 to 2008, appearing at two World Cups and three Euros.