Ajax director Kroes on suspension: ‘Wanted to radiate confidence with shares’ | Football

“It is with a heavy heart that I let you know that the supervisory board of Ajax has indicated that it will immediately suspend me as general manager of Ajax,” can be read in Kroes’ statement on LinkedIn. “Last week, some media asked questions about the Ajax shares that I own.”

Kroes confirms in his statement that he has club shares, but that the club was already aware of this. “After answering these questions, the supervisory board has seen reason to take a closer look at my share package. A package of which they were already aware at the time my appointment was finalized in August 2023. During that period, I of course fully opened matters given to the supervisory board about relevant assets, including 42,500 shares in the capital of Ajax.”

The 49-year-old from Utrecht announced that he purchased the last part of his share package a week before his appointment. “At that time I had not yet agreed with Ajax, but I had a good feeling about it because of my own intentions,” Kroes writes.

“It seemed to me to be a positive signal to radiate confidence in the club and to shareholders. There is certainly no quick-win idea behind it, I first wanted to ensure that things would go very well for Ajax again in all kinds of areas. From the fact that I share package, I have never made it a secret.”

Kroes officially joined Ajax as general manager on March 15. Before that he had bought more than seventeen thousand club shares. Ajax plans to fire Kroes because he may have traded with insider information. “All this is causing unrest for Ajax and I sincerely regret that. Hopefully this period will be over soon,” Kroes responds.

Yet he does not accept Ajax’s decision. He goes to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for an independent opinion. “My moral compass says that I cannot simply accept this decision of the supervisory board,” says Kroes. “I will now independently go to the AFM to present my matter in order to arrive at an independent judgment.”