Ajax talking to Wesley Sneijder as Dusan Tadic leaves Amsterdam for Fenerbahçe

Ajax football director Sven Mislintat has met several times with former star midfielder Wesley Sneijder about returning to the club in some capacity, possibly as an assistant coach. The news comes as the team’s forward, Dusan Tadic, has already completed his transfer from Ajax to Fenerbahçe, his new club announced on Sunday evening. Tadic signed a two-year contract with the Turkish team after spending five years as an Amsterdam fan favorite.

Bringing Wesley Sneijder, 39, back to Amsterdam would mark a return for the former Oranje player. Sources told the Telegraaf that talks were put on hold, as Sneijder deals with the death of his mother. Sylvia Sneijder-Thiele passed away last week at the age of 59 after a bout with lung cancer.

New Ajax manager Maurice Steijn had wanted Sneijder by his side at Sparta Rotterdam. At one point, the midfielder even took part in courses to become an elite trainer.

Sneijder started his professional career at Ajax after spending a decade in its youth program. He won the Eredivisie title with Ajax, La Liga with Real Madrid, Serie A with Inter Milan, and the Süper Lig with Galatasaray, not to mention the Champions League with Inter, and several national cups with each team, as well as Qatar side Al-Gharafa.

In 15 years with the Dutch men’s national team, Sneijder scored 31 times in 134 appearances. He played on the Dutch squad that wound up as the runner-up at the 2010 World Cup, and on the teams that finished as semi-finalists at the 2014 World Cup and the 2004 Euro.

Meanwhile, a video on social media shows more recent Ajax star Dusan Tadic wearing a Fenerbahçe shirt with number 10. Ajax terminated the Serbian player’s contract on Friday.

He trained on his own one last time at the Amsterdam club on Saturday, but then boarded a plane to Istanbul with his agent to negotiate his new deal. The transfer was completed a day later.

After the signing ceremony, Tadic stated, "It's a great feeling to be part of such a big club. Fenerbahçe has great fans and I can't wait to play for them. I want to win a lot of trophies with the fans. They mean a lot to the club and we really need their support."

Last week it became clear that Tadic would no longer stay with Ajax. The captain no longer wanted to participate with Ajax as the team enters a rebuilding phase. Ajax management then granted Tadic a transfer-free departure.

Tadic has received several offers in recent weeks, including from Saudi Arabia. Besiktas, the rival club from Istanbul, is also said to have set its sights on the Serbia star.