Valentijn Driessen foresees that Dusan Tadic will play in Ajax’s uniform for another year, or at most until mid-2023. The chief of football of The Telegraph responded Saturday night at The the Dutch Summer on the comment by presenter Wilfred Genee that there is club love. Ajax announced on Friday that Tadic is under contract until at least mid-2024 and then can start in another position, for example as a youth trainer. Driessen assures that the 32-year-old captain will move to another club in a year.
“Club love? It is absolutely not,” the journalist emphasized in the television program on SBS6. “Ajax’s salaries are all known in the dressing room. And this boy is then asked by AC Milan and Steven Berghuis also comes. Ajax simply acted very quickly and proposed a salary increase. Of course it cannot be the case that someone coming from Feyenoord immediately becomes the highest-earning player of Ajax, while Tadic has been playing great for three seasons.”
“That’s the idea behind it. Tadic will really leave Ajax next year, otherwise the year after. If a club like AC Milan comes again, it will leave. There are quite a lot of clubs that want that kind of players in the selection. In the end it’s all about money. You don’t think he will become a youth coach at Ajax, do you? It’s all being put down like this and it’s a nice picture of course, but that boy will go back to Serbia in a moment. Do you think he will continue to live in the Netherlands?”
Tadic announced on Ajax’s website on Friday that he was very happy that he had signed for an extra year. “Ajax is my club. I feel beautiful at Ajax, Ajax is the most beautiful club in the Netherlands. I am ready for another success.” According to Tadic, Ajax’s ambitions are the same as last season. “We want to do the same: take the bowl, take the cup, to the next round of the Champions League. The fans are back. We want to play for our people, then there is extra energy. We want to be successful together.”
Director of football affairs Marc Overmars was delighted with Tadic’s contract extension. “It is no secret that Dusan plays an important role in the team. He is a true leader both on the field and off the lines,” emphasized the sports director. “And so it’s fantastic that we can keep him at Ajax longer. His fitness is great and he will be of great value for years to come.”
Tadic came over from Southampton three years ago. He has played 149 official matches for Ajax so far, scoring 76 goals. Last season, the captain was named Footballer of the Year in the Netherlands.