Ryan Gravenberch initially did not want to leave Ajax, his father says in a major interview with Ajax Showtime† A mistake by Marc Overmars caused irritation to the twenty-year-old midfielder, who still has a contract until mid-2023. Gravenberch has been associated with a transfer to Bayern Munich for weeks. His father confirms that the negotiations with of the Rekordmeister are in a final phase.
Gravenberch senior reveals opposite Ajax Showtime that his son did not want to leave at first. A striking statement by former Ajax director of football affairs Marc Overmars caused the midfielder to change his mind. Overmars stated in September that Ajax could extend Gravenberch’s contract by means of a clause, but this turned out to be incorrect.
“That option story really irritated Ryan,” says Gravenberch senior. “He didn’t feel taken very seriously. He was still as long as Martínez, but with Martínez everything was arranged and he very quickly extended his contract during that time. Ryan wanted that too, but we think Ajax was wrong and they thought he already had an option in his contract to extend. That option is not there. No idea where that came from, but that may have made them think there was no rush.”
Exactly in that period, however, we sat down with Bayern for the first time,” continues the midfielder’s father. “Coincidence or not; they jumped into the hole that Ajax dropped at exactly the right moment. That has slowly grown into something very concrete. Bayern was on a mission from the first moment.” Where Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann almost confirmed the arrival of Mazraoui, the situation regarding Gravenberch is different. The midfielder still has a contract until next summer, which means that the German national champion has to come up with a transfer amount to release him from Ajax. However, the two clubs are not yet able to find each other in terms of supply and demand.
According to his father, Ajax made Gravenberch a ‘fantastic offer’ in recent months. Nevertheless, the midfielder got a better feeling about Bayern’s plan. “He has thought it through carefully. I have often asked him, because I know how well he has it at Ajax and I also think that he can still learn a lot here. But he feels that this is now a good next step in his career.”