Sven Mislintat opens up about his controversial short spell at Ajax | OneFootball

“I was first provisionally and then completely suspended as part of and as a consequence of the allegations. What happened from a sporting perspective: We had a weak start to the season, for which I, as Technical Director, was of course primarily responsible, along with the coach. But to be perfectly clear: two investigations, in the Netherlands that by KPMG and here in Germany that by VfB Stuttgart, came to a clear conclusion: namely, that there was no conflict of interest. Incidentally, I supported both investigations 100 percent. I was completely transparent and disclosed everything. I had absolutely nothing to hide.”

“No. Let’s go into detail and take it one step at a time: I am one of the five founding members of Matchmetrics. That was over a decade ago. Back then, I contributed my knowledge and received shares for my expertise in professional football. I’ve never worked in operations and to this day have never received any compensation other than access to the objective data. In the following years, but years before I joined Ajax, there were investment rounds to raise money – as is absolutely common for startups. Puma joined as an anchor investor, whose negotiated terms were binding for all subsequent investors. A private individual, AKA Global, and I subsequently acquired shares and the opportunity to purchase Matchmetrics’ services at a significantly reduced price. We are no longer shareholders in the same company. Mind you, a company that provides objective data for professional football and whose clients cover the entire football portfolio: clubs, associations, consultants. Incidentally, Matchmetrics’ structures are publicly available for inspection in the commercial register. I also disclosed my role and involvement to all employers, which was also included in all my employment contracts.”

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