Edwin van der Sar has revealed he held two rounds of talks with Ed Woodward about joining Man United in an executive role.
The club’s legendary Dutch goalkeeper, 55, was most recently chief executive at Ajax but could have joined his old Premier League side.
Speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, he said: ‘Yes, I spoke to Ed Woodward twice about taking up a role at Manchester United, but at that point, I didn’t think my job was finished at Ajax with the path we were going on – we were not there yet.
‘But I had two good conversations with him on two separate occasions about a role, probably alongside him.’
Van der Sar quit his role with Ajax in 2023 after the team finished a disappointing third in the Dutch Eredivise, with the Dutch giants missing out on a Champions League place.
He had been a member of the board since 2012 and chief executive since 2016 before departing.
Former Man United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar could have joined the club in an executive role but opted to continue at Ajax after two rounds of talks
Van der Sar, pictured with his wife, suffered a health scare in 2023 but has recovered now
The former stopper still keeps a close eye on his old side Man United, where he spent six years of his playing career and made 186 appearances.
He thinks Senne Lammens, who joined the club for £18.2million from Royal Antwerp last September, looks as though he has the ability and mentality to make the shirt his own.
‘He’s doing well. Of course, it’s only been seven or eight months, but it certainly looks like he knows the physicality of the Premier League – I see him coming for balls in the penalty spot and he claims them with confidence, makes saves when needed, not looking to make saves when not necessary,’ he continued.
‘I’m not here day-to-day and I don’t see all of the games, but he looks like he has a good package with him to be here [at Manchester United] for a long time.’
On the three goalkeepers he admirers most, he added: ‘I’m still a big fan of [Manuel] Neuer – even after his injuries. [Thibaut] Courtois, and [Gianluigi] Donnarumma – he had two great years at Paris Saint-Germain.
‘I’m 6ft 6in, so it helped me a lot to be big and tall. Nowadays, when goalkeepers come out, they almost do the splits [instead of staying big]. Football has evolved and the art of goalkeeping has evolved with different techniques.’
In July of 2023, Van der Sar suffered a serious health scare while on holiday in Croatia.
He suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleed around the brain) and was treated in intensive care before returning to the Netherlands for further recovery.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is one of the goalkeepers Van der Sar says he admires most
On that difficult time, he said: ‘I’m OK now. I had it three years ago. I had a great holiday – a sailing trip in Croatia. On the last day, in the hotel, I got up to go to the toilet and felt dizzy, and I felt my neck. I went back into the room and said, “Close the curtains”, and I sat on the bed not feeling well. My wife called the doctor, and I was told I had a brain haemorrhage.
‘One of the things that helped was that I had just quit my job at Ajax as a director. Five weeks before that I had resigned. It was a big step for me, but I felt I had brought Ajax to a point where maybe I couldn’t bring any more to the club than I already did.
‘I was surprised because I had a great holiday, we were all relaxed, and then something like that happens to you. We went to the hospital, I was in intensive care, and I was there for three weeks.
‘Then you have the recovery process and rehabilitation, and you know as a player you also want the best people around you and a programme fitted for you. I had no pressure about going back into a job – no phone calls, no emails, no decision-making – so that helped a lot to recover to the level that I am now.’
The daily stresses of life running an elite football club are no longer there and he is now able to enjoy a healthier balance.
The former goalkeeper says he is able to relax more now without the stress of his old job
When asked if he and his wife look at life differently now, he said: ‘No – I’m not that type of guy. What was nice for me was that I wanted to have a rest, take a year out of football, go to some other clubs and learn some new things.
‘Now it’s almost three years ago, so I’ve had time to recover with no stress, no phone in my hand – just doing the stuff that I’ve wanted to do.
“Wake up when you want, walk the dog, go swim in the sea, go on holiday. I went to New Zealand for two months with Annemarie [his wife] – nice things that I never had the chance to do before.
‘I started playing at 18 or 19, finished at 40, and at 41 I became one of the directors at Ajax until 53, so I thought it was the right time to take a step back. That’s taken a little bit longer than I originally thought, to be fair, but we are enjoying ourselves very much.’
