Michael van Praag Rejects ‘Mismanagement’ Label at Ajax, Slams Alex Kroes for ‘Saving Face’

Former Ajax Supervisory Board chairman Michael van Praag is pushing back against claims of institutional failure at the Amsterdam club, framing the current turmoil not as mismanagement, but as a necessary, long-term recovery strategy. Speaking on Goedemorgen Eredivisie, van Praag argued that the club is still working through the complex legacy of former director Sven Mislintat, a process he believes requires a three-year window to fully resolve.

The comments come at a volatile time for the Eredivisie giants, where the term “mismanagement” has grow a frequent talking point among supporters and critics. Van Praag, who departed his role a year and a half ago, insists that the club is making progress, even if the results are not yet where they necessitate to be.

“Whenever Ajax is mentioned, the word ‘mismanagement’ is immediately bandied about, but that is of course not the case,” van Praag said. He noted that the club is currently in the second year of a recovery effort, stating, “I reject the term ‘mismanagement’, because Ajax are working to turn the tide.”

The Three-Year Recovery Window

Central to van Praag’s defense is the impact of Sven Mislintat’s tenure. According to the former chairman, the Supervisory Board spent considerable effort attempting to resolve the situation left behind by Mislintat. Van Praag estimated at the time that a definitive resolution would accept three years.

For those unfamiliar with the internal workings of the club, the “legacy” refers to the systemic and technical shifts that occurred during Mislintat’s time, which van Praag suggests created a deficit that cannot be fixed overnight. While he acknowledges that the club has not yet reached its target destination, he maintains that improvements are visible and that the current approach is a “recovery strategy” rather than a failure of leadership.

The Alex Kroes Conflict and Insider Trading

While defending the club’s broader strategy, van Praag did not hold back regarding Alex Kroes. The relationship between the former CEO and the club’s leadership collapsed under the weight of an insider trading scandal that began shortly after Kroes’s appointment.

The controversy erupted on April 2, 2024, when the Supervisory Board discovered that Kroes had purchased over 17,000 shares in Ajax just one week before his intended appointment was made public on August 2, 2023. This discovery led to his immediate suspension.

In a recent appearance on the Kale & Kokkie Podcast, Kroes claimed that his suspension was unjustified. Van Praag dismissed these claims as an attempt to rewrite history.

“Well, it turns out that’s not the case. The AFM (Autoriteit Financiële Markten) has since established that insider trading did take place,” van Praag stated. He argued that for a listed company, appointing a CEO under such circumstances is unthinkable. “If Kroes is saying that now, he’s just trying to save face.”

Van Praag admitted that while he personally considered Kroes suitable for the CEO role in terms of capability, the legal and ethical ramifications of the share purchases left the board with no other choice but to act. “I would have done the same thing again, and my successors would have done the same. You have no other option,” he added.

A Failed Transition and Final Departure

The club initially attempted to find a middle ground to preserve Kroes’s expertise within the organization. On April 25, 2024, Ajax announced a function change where Kroes stepped down as CEO and chairman of the board to instead serve as a titular technical director. At the time, the club hoped he could contribute to the acquisition and sales policy while the legal situation was monitored.

However, that compromise did not last. Records show that Alex Kroes officially left Ajax as of February 1.

This departure marks the end of a chaotic chapter for the club’s executive leadership. For Daniel Richardson and the editorial team at Archysport, this saga underscores the precarious balance Ajax must maintain between its sporting ambitions and the strict regulatory requirements of being a listed company on the stock exchange.

As Ajax continues its attempt to “turn the tide,” the focus now shifts from the boardroom battles of the past two years back to the pitch. The club remains under intense scrutiny from its global fanbase to prove that van Praag’s “recovery strategy” is yielding tangible results in the Eredivisie.

For more updates on Ajax’s technical restructuring and leadership changes, follow the official announcements from AFC Ajax and reports via Goal.com.

What do you think about van Praag’s three-year timeline for recovery? Is it a realistic window or an excuse for poor performance? Let us know in the comments.