Edwin van der Sar pays tribute to 'weird man' Erik ten Hag

Van der Sar has spoken warmly about him in the past
Van der Sar has spoken warmly about him in the past / Soccrates Images/GettyImages
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Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar has paid tribute to Erik ten Hag after the Dutch giants clinched the Eredivisie title on Wednesday.

Ten Hag is departing Amsterdam for Manchester United at the end of the season, where he will take over from interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

However, he had time to win one more trophy before leaving Ajax, guiding his side to the third Dutch title of his reign courtesy of a 5-0 tonking of Heerenveen.

This result gives De Godenzonen an unassailable lead over PSV Eindhoven at the Eredivisie summit, and there was a trophy presentation at the Amsterdam Arena at full time.

During the celebrations, Van der Sar took time to pay tribute to Ajax's departing boss, as well as wishing him good luck for the future.


Listen now to 90min's Manchester United podcast, The Promised Land, with Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette. On this week's show they discuss Darwin Nunez, Declan Rice, Pau Torres, the transfer window in general, the Youth Cup final and more.


"Erik...sometimes I thought 'you are a weird man'. But you surpassed all expectations," Van der Sar said. "Dominant football, semi-final Champions League, league titles.

"You will leave for a club that is close to my heart. I wish you all the best there. Thank you, Erik ten Hag!"

Ten Hag has a tough task on his hands to turn United's fortunes around. With just one game left to play the Red Devils could feasibly drop to seventh and into the Europa Conference League if they do not get a result against in-form Crystal Palace on the last day of the season.


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