I bought Finidi George for Ajax with my own money – Van Gaal

Manchester United boss, Louis van Gaal, has revealed that he paid Finidi George’s transfer fee with money from his pocket. The Dutchman spent six years in charge of the Eridivisie club and won 11 trophies during that spell.


Van Gaal recollected a time when Ajax plunged into financial crisis, leading to the club scouting for younger players. The former Super Eagles winger, arrived from Sharks for about £3,000 (about N912,505) in 1993.

“We didn’t have any money and we were bankrupt, so I had to look for the youth,” the Manchester United boss told The Daily Telegraph. “We scouted [Jari] Litmanen, a Finnish player, who we bought for £10,000. “We also bought Finidi George. He was a Nigerian international.
“He was £3,000. I paid it by myself! And then, we bought Marc Overmars.”

George and Kanu Nwankwo later won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995.