Justin Kluivert was right to reject Manchester United as he would not have been able to manage playing in the Premier League, says his father and Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert.
Jose Mourinho was reportedly interested in pursuing the 19-year-old, but he left Ajax for Roma instead of United. The promising Dutch winger made his Serie A debut in Roma’s 1-0 win against Torino.
His father, Patrick, is the Netherlands’ third highest goal scorer, a Champions League winner and played for AC Milan, Ajax and Barcelona. After a handful of coaching roles in the Eredivisie and a year as director of football at Paris Saint-Germain, Kluivert is now Clarence Seedorf’s assistant manager at Cameroon.
Kluivert senior insists that avoiding Old Trafford was a good move for his son and believes the Premier League may have been too challenging.
“I’m very satisfied with what he is doing,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “A job would have been difficult. I think United would have been too big a jump. Roma is an important club, but the pressures are lower.”
“He doesn’t speak much, but he is someone who knows how to listen and is motivated, I would have liked to stay in Ajax for another year, but he chose for himself. I think Roma is a good solution.”
Justin Kluivert joined Ajax when he was eight and made 56 appearances for the first team, scored 13 goals and reached the Europa League final in 2016/17, when Mourinho’s United won 2-0.
“Roma must not win by force and it is a club that is used to good football,” added Patrick Kluivert, who wants his son to follow in his footsteps and join Barcelona. “It is the ideal place for Justin right now. Then, who doesn’t dream of Barcelona? But Italian football is catching up and Justin can take advantage of it.”