Louis van Gaal has stepped down "with pain in his heart" as an adviser to Ajax's supervisory board, he said in an interview with Voetbal International.
Back in 2023, Van Gaal agreed to take on the role after his friend Michael van Praag, then chairman of the supervisory board, asked him.
Three years later, the former Ajax, AZ and Bayern Munich manager had seen enough and resigned from his duties last July.
Van Gaal said the reason was Ajax's board structure. "Sixteen people have to look at every decision and I was still outside that as well. In the end I thought: I am just one of so many."
He then continued: "After Van Praag's departure from the supervisory board, nothing was ever done with my advice again. Ajax did not value me properly,"
For Van Gaal, the structure in Amsterdam is unworkable, and he pointed to PSV. "They have very short lines there, just as we had with Ajax in 1995. Back then there were only five or six people making the decisions."
Ajax, who finished fifth in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie last season, will not recover quickly either, according to Van Gaal. "Not as long as so many people have influence on the policy. The board have to decide, but they are being obstructed because every body constantly has to be kept informed of everything and then also has to approve everything. That all takes far too much time and is unworkable in a fast-moving world like football."