In December, the club announced that they had reached a verbal agreement with Jordi Cruyff, son of Ajax legend Johan Cruyff, to become the club's next technical director.

The 51-year-old signed a two-year contract on Saturday and was presented after the team's 2-2 home draw against Go Ahead Eagles. Cruyff will officially start on February 1st.

"It is very special to be here and to sign my contract," Cruyff said in a club statement.

"In the stadium named after my father, and at the club that has been important to me since I was young. It goes without saying how much this means to my family and me. From February, I will fully commit myself to Ajax. I do so with a great sense of responsibility and pride. I thank the club management for their trust. Ajax is a unique club with a rich history, and I will do everything I can to add a new successful chapter together."

The club's supervisory board, the second-most powerful organ within Ajax, also intends to name Cruyff to the board. Cruyff will follow up former Ajax and Netherlands defender Danny Blind, who announced his intent to step down earlier this year.

Jordi Cruyff started his football career in the Ajax youth academy in 1981, after which he moved to Barcelona with his father, who was named manager of FC Barcelona in 1988.

Following a playing career that saw him play for the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and the Dutch national team, Cruyff was technical director at AEK Larnaca and Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he also served as manager during the 2017/18 season.

Cruyff went on to manage China and lead the Ecuadorian national team before becoming FC Barcelona's technical director in 2022. With Cruyff at the helm, FC Barcelona, who'd just lost Lionel Messi, brought in the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Robert Lewandowski and Xavi, who returned to the club as manager.

Cruyff joins Ajax in the middle of a tumultuous season in which the Amsterdam giants are already 18 points behind league leaders PSV, with survival in the UEFA Champions League out of reach after winning just three points from their first six games, and manager John Heitinga was [lslink-news-article cms-href="https://www.flashscore.com/news/soccer-eredivisie-ajax-fire-manager-john-heitinga-after-disappointing-start-to-the-season/2yeDngje" slug="soccer-eredivisie-ajax-fire-manager-john-heitinga-after-disappointing-start-to-the-season" article-id="2yeDngje"]fired after just five months in charge[/lslink-news-article].

Ajax had been looking for a new technical director since Alex Kroes announced his decision to step down. Kroes took responsibility for the current situation at Ajax. His fellow board members convinced Kroes to stay on until the club had found a replacement.

The 51-year-old Cruyff was quickly declared one of Ajax's top targets after Alex Kroes announced his decision to step down from his role as technical director. Cruyff reportedly had to compete with former left-back Maxwell and former Liverpool director Michael Edwards.

With Cruyff now in line to start in February 2026, Ajax will likely resume their search for a new manager after the club prioritised the search for a new technical director.