Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind has revealed he turned down the chance to join Arsenal as a youth player, spurning a lucrative contract and benefit package to follow the footsteps of his father Danny at Ajax. Recently named head coach of the Netherlands national side, Danny Blind captained Ajax in his playing days, winning everything there is to win with the club.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Blind said he was impressed with the facilities at Arsenal, saying the short experience was “great,” but ultimately opted to stay with Ajax.
“I had the chance to move to London at a young age,” he said. “I was in the Ajax academy and one day I came home from school. My mum and dad said to me: ‘Arsenal have called today. They want you.”
“I thought they were taking the mickey. It was my dream to be a player in the first team of Ajax but we went to Arsenal. We were there for a day — it was great. They offered to sort out everything for my schooling, so I could get my A levels.”
“They also offered me an incredible contract, especially for a boy of my age. Ajax offered me a contract too at the same time. The money was nowhere near what I could earn at Arsenal. My dad left it up to me and I decided to stay at Ajax.”
Blind said he turned down a lot of money at the time, but does not regret his decision, saying it was his dream to emulate his father’s achievements at Ajax. Following his father would have been incredibly hard to do with the former Ajax captain winning every club trophy in world football, but he did manage to win the Eredivisie 4 times with the dutch outfit.
“I let a lot of money slip away then, and I can understand why some players, whose families need the money, say yes to clubs of Arsenal’s size,” he said.
“I said no, partially because I was lucky to have everything I needed at home.”
“The other reason I decided to say no was that secretly I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my dad, Danny. He had been captain of Ajax, won every trophy in the world with them.”
