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THE HAGUE: Ajax have terminated the contract of former wonderkid Abdelhak Nouri, severely brain damaged and in a coma since collapsing three seasons ago, the Dutch daily De Telegraaf said on Tuesday.
The club intervened ahead of the July 1 date when the contract was due to renew for the 22-year-old who collapsed while warming up for a pre-season friendly against German club Werder Bremen in July 2017.
Known to fans and team-mates as Appie, Nouri joined the Amsterdam club aged seven and developed into a teenage sensation.
In 2018 Ajax agreed to pay for medical care for life for the player who has permanent, debilitating brain damage and will never be able to live independently.
His family filed suit against the club and it was determined that the player had received inadequate care after his collapse that was triggered by heart problems.
The club are in talks with Nouri’s family about a future solution for the player, who has been moved to a specially adapted room at his home after years in hospital, De Telegraaf added.
Despite being revived on the pitch and airlifted to a hospital, he suffered serious and permanent brain damage.
“We recognise our responsibility and liability for the consequences of this,” Ajax’s general manager Edwin van der Sar said in 2018.
The Dutch club said it had sought an external opinion during the incident and acted accordingly but further investigations showed that a defibrillator should have been used
Nouri, born in Amsterdam to Moroccan parents, made 15 appearances for Ajax in his debut 2016-17 season while still a teenager. He is now 22 years old. While the club hope an agreement can be reached, Nouri family will be looking for a ‘significantly’ higher payout after Ajax admitted to providing ‘inadequate’ on-field treatment to the player at the time of the incident.
Journalist Valentijn Driessen claimed last week that a compensation fee has not been agreed between the two parties while it is being reported that Ajax are considering an offer of £4.5million, according to The Sun.
The Dutch club said it had sought an external opinion during the incident and acted accordingly but further investigations showed that a defibrillator should have been used sooner in the treatment.
‘Had this happened, it’s possible that Abdelhak would have come out in a better condition. This isn’t certain, but it’s a possibility,’ the former Manchester United goalkeeper added.
Nouri, born in Amsterdam to parents of Moroccan descent, made 15 appearances for Ajax in his debut 2016-17 season.