Earlier this month, Donny van de Beek made the switch from Ajax to Manchester United for a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 44 million euros. It is the umpteenth player that the Amsterdammers deliver to the European top. General manager Edwin van der Sar explains in an interview with The Guardian explains the club’s working method and explains why scouts from all top European clubs have their eyes on Ajax.

Ajax has a rich history of players who left the club for a European top club. Last year Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) and Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) made the step to absolute top clubs, while this transfer period Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) and Van de Beek went to the Premier League. Sergiño Dest is about to move to Bayern Munich and André Onana and Nicolás Tagliafico have already been linked to several major clubs. “If you want to take the next step in your career, you have to go abroad,” says Van der Sar in the newspaper.

Van der Sar also went abroad from Ajax as goalkeeper. He left Amsterdam 1999 for a contract with Juventus. “The salaries there were much higher than with us in the Netherlands. At some point it is important to take the next step. ” Ajax is seen worldwide as one of the best trainers and Van der Sar makes a comparison with leading universities. “Let’s say we are Stanford University, Oxford or Harvard. Then you go to, for example, Merrill Lynch (an American bank, ed.) Or to the other large companies. There is more money to be made there and the competition is greater. ”

The fact that Van de Beek is the newest player from their own youth academy that has been bought away by one of the largest clubs in the world comes as no surprise to Van der Sar. “In the youth Donny was always one of the two or three great talents. He was not a spectacular player. He never scored with a bicycle kick, but his technique was very functional. He was always well positioned, ”said the director, who was pleased that Van de Beek did not leave last year. Real Madrid had serious interest at the time. “He also needed that extra year, I think.”

“We want to be successful with the players we train,” said Van der Sar. “We want to win prizes with them in two or three years and take the players to a higher level. Then the interest of other clubs will come naturally. Those clubs should be bigger. After two or three years it is time to take the next step. It’s also a matter of making room for the next one. The other players must envision the same path. ”