Lentin Goodijk and Tim van Duijn of Voetbal International reported on Wednesday that 35-year-old Farioli has a limited buyout clause in his contract. The Italian signed a 3-year contract last summer after joining Ajax from Ligue 1 side OGC Nice, even with several clubs from more significant European competitions approaching Farioli.
According to Voetbal International, the limited buyout clause should be around €5 million. Any interested party would have to pay Ajax the sum, putting Ajax out of control of any negotiations.
Ajax beat PSV 2-0 in a crucial Eredivisie match last weekend, all but ensuring a 37th league title heading towards Amsterdam with Ajax now leading PSV by nine points.
Rocky road
The club's journey has been rocky since Erik ten Hag left Ajax in the summer of 2022. The Amsterdam side finished third in the 2022/23 season - the club's lowest finish since 2009 - and fifth in 2023/24, saw five managers pass in the last three seasons, and were pushed into financial issues after former Arsenal executive Sven Mislintat reigned over the club during a four-month period as the director of football.
Italian manager Francesco Farioli got hired by the club prior to this season after a successful stint at Ligue 1 side OGC Nice. The 35-year-old got the goal of returning Ajax to the Champions League in what many called a 'gap year'.
But with Ajax now on the brink of winning their first title since 2022, and the club dominating their biggest rivals Feyenoord and PSV across all four games against them, foreign clubs looked to line up for the Italian.
Before last weekend's PSV clash, director of football Marijn Beuker gave an update on Farioli's contract situation at Ajax on ESPN's 'Goedemorgen Eredivisie'. "Francesco still has an ongoing contract, and I believe that both with players and coaches, you always try to keep the group together, because the stability of the selection is a key predictor of success,” Beuker said, adding that the chances of Farioli staying were "big".
