Ajax confirms Marijn Beuker's exit after two‑and‑a‑half years

Marijn Beuker will depart Ajax on 1 July, the club announced on Monday afternoon, ending his two‑and‑a‑half‑year tenure as the director responsible for the youth academy and supporting disciplines after weeks of media speculation about a split with the director of football.

General director Menno Geelen said the function had changed on several aspects in recent months. “In discussions about the further shaping of our football organisation a too large difference of insight emerged,” he explained.

Geelen added that the duties will be reassigned internally. He thanked Beuker for his “enormous commitment” over the past two and a half years, noting his role in aligning the football departments and retaining many talents.

Beuker described his time at Ajax as a ‘great privilege’. He reflected, “I look back with pride on the collaboration with players, parents, coaches and colleagues, and on the steps we have taken together in developing the football organisation.”

Before joining Ajax, Beuker served as sport director at Scottish club Queen’s Park and as director of development at AZ. He began working in the Amsterdam Arena at the end of 2023.

De reported questions about his performance, alleging inaccuracies on his LinkedIn CV and linking him, as Alex Kroes’s right‑hand, to a less successful transfer policy that included signings such as Oscar Gloukh, Raul Moro, Ko Itakura, Kasper Dolberg, Joeri Heerkens, Maarten Paes and James McConnell. The newspaper highlighted the mixed results of those acquisitions.

With the arrival of Jordi Cruijff as the new technical director, Beuker refocused on his primary task of youth development and methodology. He reiterated his belief that “one vision fully embraced by everyone is better than multiple competing visions” and wished Ajax success in achieving its ambitions.