AJAX PROBE EX-GUNNERS CHIEF SVEN
Mislintat and German agent Arthur Beck, who acted for Sosa.
It has been revealed that Mislintat had a professional connection to Beck through the sporting director’s scouting data analysis firm Matchmetrics, which is used by clubs worldwide as a player database.
Beck’s own player agency – AKA Global – is a shareholder in Matchmetrics founded by Mislintat in 2019.
It is believed that 25-year-old Sosa had agreed to join Sevilla, but suddenly changed his mind to join Ajax instead on deadline day.
It has also emerged that, on the previous day, Sosa changed his agent from Thies Bliemeister at ICM Stellar – owned by Gareth Bale’s adviser Jonathan Barnett – to AKA Global, which then earned commission from Ajax for brokering the £7million transfer.
Ajax have admitted they were aware of the connection between Matchmetrics and AKA Global, and have not suspended Mislintat.
But he has been ordered to stay away from the club while it is determined if the relationship between him and Beck breached any stock exchange rules, with Ajax listed as a limited company.
In a statement, the Dutch giants said: “Given that the player acquired by Ajax this summer is represented by AKA Global, the club is looking at this further with the assistance of external advisers.
“An independent external inquiry will also be carried out by a forensic accountant and Sven Mislintat has offered his full co-operation, including sharing all relevant documentation.”
During his time at Arsenal, Mislintat was involved in recruiting Pierre-emerick Aubameyang, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Bernd Leno, Sokratis, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
He came under fire for some of those signings, but said at the time: “I don’t feel ashamed of any of those transfers, on the contrary, I will always defend these guys.
“Not because they were my players, but because they were Arsenal players and capable ones.”