Feyenoord Board Criticized for Transfer Window Failures

The knives were out in De Telegraaf’s podcast Kick-Off on Monday. Mike Verweij and Valentijn Driessen took aim at Feyenoord’s leadership, accusing technical director Dévy Rigaux and general director Robert Eenhoorn of mishandling a transfer window that, in their eyes, should have transformed the club’s finances.

“They had 40 million to play with”

Verweij painted a very different picture from the one Rigaux had sketched of his predecessor, Dennis te Kloese.

“Rigaux has taken a huge swipe at his predecessor Te Kloese,” Verweij began. “But now it turns out that Te Kloese, with the money for Hadj Moussa included, had 40 million.”

According to Verweij, Feyenoord let serious offers slip through their fingers.

“There was a bid of 25 million for Ueda, who was sold far too cheaply to Lille OSC. And Read could almost have risen to 35 million. And Hull City bid 20 million for Targhalline.”

The conclusion was brutal.

“If they had simply done their job and sold the right players, Feyenoord would for the time being have had a great deal of financial resources,” Verweij argued. “That same Te Kloese put together a squad there that was worth around €120 million. So I think Rigaux and Eenhoorn did something wrong in this transfer window. If they had sold Read immediately, they could have been much more effective in the transfer market.”

Friends of Feyenoord at the heart of the storm

Driessen then zoomed out to what he sees as the real power centre at the club: Friends of Feyenoord.

“It all comes back to the Friends of Feyenoord again,” he said. “They have 49 per cent of the shares. And the moment Feyenoord pay €17.5 million, they lose 25 per cent. And in two years’ time, again.”

The structure around the investors, Driessen claimed, directly affects how Feyenoord can operate in the market.

“Feyenoord are also obliged to buy part of the shares if they post a positive transfer balance in a transfer window. And they certainly would have done that if one of those transfers had gone through. Then that transfer balance would have been so high that they would have been obliged to buy part of the Friends’ purchases.”

The suggestion: big sales would not just have filled the transfer kitty, they would also have forced the club to start buying out those investors.

“Eenhoorn is an extension of the Friends”

At that point, Driessen aimed squarely at Eenhoorn and the collapsed move of Hadj Moussa to Al-Ittihad.

“The Friends of Feyenoord do not want out,” he claimed. “And Eenhoorn came in at the request of the Friends. He is their favourite, and became director. So he is not going to go against those Friends. Eenhoorn allowed himself to be influenced into not letting the Hadj Moussa transfer go through.”

Feyenoord reportedly pointed to a rejected bank guarantee as a reason the deal fell apart. Driessen dismissed that explanation.

“It concerns a €40 million transfer. It concerns Saudi Arabia, just ask Ajax. They have always had the money and are solvent.”

The criticism didn’t stop there. According to Driessen, Feyenoord’s stance during negotiations sent its own message.

“Feyenoord were also hardly reachable by phone, it was very difficult to get in touch with them. It was dragged out for a very long time, and in the end the medical could no longer take place.”

His conclusion about Eenhoorn’s role was cutting.

“Robert Eenhoorn is simply an extension of the Friends of Feyenoord. He is their mate. The moment someone puts you forward and you can serve their interests, that happens nine times out of 10. He has previously made it known that he is not exactly eager to buy out the Friends. And then you remain stuck with those Friends.”

The questions now hang over De Kuip: did Feyenoord miss a rare chance to cash in and reset their sporting project, or are the club’s hands tied by the very investors who once helped save it?