Menno Geelen denies Jordi Cruijff running Ajax alone; here's the truth behind the rumors

At a corner of the meeting room at Amsterdam Arena, Menno Geelen — Ajax's chief executive — was holding a copy of Het Parool in his hands. He shook his head, not in anger, but with a gentle weariness of someone who has witnessed too many unfounded rumors in European football. The rumor that the Dutch newspaper published — that Jordi Cruijff is single-handedly running everything at Ajax, controlling the club like a mysterious hand behind the scenes — is completely false.

"I do not recognize that portrayal at all," Geelen said in an extensive interview with De Telegraaf. "Jordi is very much a team player. In the past few months, I have personally spoken with him virtually every day, about all sorts of matters from tactics to finance."

That was not a diplomatic statement. It was a fact that I — a journalist who has been following Dutch football for over four decades — can confirm after observing how Ajax operates internally. This club, despite going through crisis in recent years, still maintains a far more complex governance system than what the media often portrays.

The Real Picture of Ajax's Board

When looking at Ajax's current management structure, one can easily be overwhelmed by the diversity of figures involved. Geelen does not deny Cruijff's influence — who has brought quite a few players to Amsterdam recently. But that influence does not exist in a vacuum. "Jordi also consults extensively with our finance director Shashi Baboeram Panday," Geelen added. "And he involves Daniel de Ridder and Siem de Jong, who are developing as technical managers."

What is noteworthy here is how Cruijff — or any senior figure at Ajax — operates within a tightly connected network. They not only exchange with the administrative or financial departments. They "just as easily liaise" — in Geelen's own words — with the scouting team, the football side, and the board. This is a governance model that many top clubs in Europe still dream of.

I have followed many clubs throughout my career, from Belgrade in the 1980s to Guangzhou today, and what I have realized is: a well-functioning system does not depend on any single individual, no matter how talented that person may be. Ajax understood this long ago.

The Comparison with Sven Mislintat and the Expensive Lesson

Cruijff's emergence at Ajax inevitably drew comparisons with his predecessor. Sven Mislintat — Ajax's former technical director — spent millions of euros bringing in new players in 2026. The result? Most of them failed to meet expectations in Amsterdam. This was one of the darkest periods in the club's recent history.

Geelen does not run away from that reality. "The transfer policy during the Mislintat period was far from optimal," he admitted. "The criticism and questions raised were completely understandable."

But acknowledgment is only the first step. What matters more is what Ajax did afterward. "The Mislintat period was evaluated extensively, including external evaluation," Geelen stated. "One of the findings was that the football axis within the organization was not functioning properly. That issue has been addressed. The entire transfer process has also been reviewed and improved."

This is a statement I believe. Not because Geelen said so, but because I have followed how clubs recover from crises throughout half a century. Truly strong organizations are not those that never make mistakes — they are those that know how to learn lessons and restructure.

Responsibility Without Borders

In the interview, Geelen also mentioned a detail that many might overlook: he is not an executive who only handles the business side. "During the Mislintat period, I may have had a different responsibility as commercial director, but I still felt responsible," Geelen said. "There is little point now in dwelling too long on that specific period or on other individual directors or coaches who have left."

This is a stance I highly respect. In modern football, where blame is transferred faster than a pass, a senior executive acknowledging responsibility — even when not directly in charge of that area — is rare. This is not false humility. This is organizational culture.

I have witnessed too many clubs collapse not because of failures on the pitch, but because of internal divisions and mutual blame. Ajax, despite going through difficult times, has not fallen into that vortex.

What Is Really Happening at Ajax?

Returning to the rumor published by Het Parool. The story of a "solo" Jordi Cruijff at Ajax is an oversimplified version of a complex reality. In modern football, no individual — whether sporting director, president, or coach — can single-handedly run a major club. The complexity of transfer decisions, tactics, finance, and personnel requires a multi-dimensional decision-making network.

What Geelen is trying to convey is: Ajax has that network, and it is functioning. Cruijff plays an important role, but he is not alone. Panday's presence in finance, De Ridder and De Jong's development in technical director roles, and continuous interaction with the scouting team and coaching staff — all these form what I call a "multi-point control" system.

This is not ideal. In reality, every system has flaws. But compared to the "one decision-maker" model that rumors describe, this is a far more sustainable approach.

Lessons for the Entire Football World

What is worth reflecting on here is not just Ajax's internal affairs. It is how the media — and the public — tend to oversimplify power structures in football. When a club succeeds, people find a "genius" to celebrate. When a club fails, people find a "scapegoat" to blame. The truth, as usual, lies somewhere between those two extremes.

Throughout my career, I have seen too many champions built on the foundation of a single individual and then collapse when that individual left. Ajax, with all its problems, seems to be trying to avoid that trap.

Geelen is not perfect, and Ajax is not a perfect club. But in an industry full of grand promises and empty assurances, a executive's acknowledgment of failure and commitment to improvement is worth noting.

Ajax's Future and Cruijff's Role

Jordi Cruijff will continue to bring players to Ajax. That is undeniable. But will he "single-handedly steer" the club as rumors suggest? The answer, based on what Geelen has disclosed, is no.

Ajax's multi-point control system may not be perfect, but it is operating. And in football, what matters is not that one person has absolute power, but that the system has the ability to self-correct.

Geelen has made it clear: "There is little point now in dwelling too long on that period." That is a message for everyone looking to blame or overly glorify any individual. Football is collective, and Ajax — despite all its issues — seems to still remember that.

The Johan Cruyff Arena still stands in Amsterdam. Rumors will continue to emerge. But as I have learned in 46 years of following football: let the pitch do the talking, and let the numbers prove. Every system can be measured, and every claim can be verified. That is how I follow everything — not through hearsay, but through data and facts.

Ajax is not perfect. But they are moving forward — together, not alone.