Remarkable news from Germany. Sven Mislintat really seems to be returning to his old club Borussia Dortmund. There were already rumors last week and this weekend several German media companies are also writing that he is going to Dorrtmund. Mislintat previously worked at the Bundesliga club in various positions between 2009 and 2017. At Ajax his career was considerably shorter and he is seen as a big failure. That is why there are some raised eyebrows in Amsterdam about his return to the German top club.
The Ajax management dismissed Mislintat after a few months. The reason for his dismissal was a ‘lack of broad support within the organization’. Mislintat came under fire after it emerged that he made a purchase through a business associate from Germany. It would concern a share transaction in Mislintat’s company Matchmetrics GmbH, a commercial data system for scouting football players.
Together with four others, Mislintat founded this company and divided the shares equally. Five weeks after Mislintat started at Ajax, that ratio is said to have changed and Mislintat became a major shareholder with 35 percent.
In addition, it soon became clear that a number of his purchases were not the desired top players and that one after the other ‘star player’ left Ajax. The result is the disastrous season the club is currently experiencing.
Despite the quick dismissal at Ajax, his old club apparently sees enough starting points for a new employment contract. The current managing director, Hans-Joachim Watzke, will retire from next summer. At the end of last month, Mislintat already seemed to be in the picture at his old club and now Mislintat is said to be in advanced negotiations with the club for the role of sporting director, Sky reports. But according to the German broadcaster, he could also become technical director.
Conflict of interest
Mislintat was appointed technical director at Ajax in May 2023. One of his first actions was to appoint Maurice Steijn as trainer. During his period as director, Mislintat spent between 100 and 115 million euros on twelve acquisitions. But the desired results did not materialize.
After the transfer period, it emerged that Ajax had started an investigation into the German due to a conflict of interest. It concerned the transfer of Borna Sosa. Mislintat was fired after the canceled Classic against Feyenoord (September 2023). Just under a month later, Steijn also had to resign as head coach of the Amsterdam team.
