AFC Ajax has reached an agreement with Girona coach Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz, known as Michel, for a contract until the summer of 2028. The Amsterdam club has made the coach's arrival public. Jordi Cruijff, Ajax's technical director, has brought Michel, one of his dream candidates, to the club. On Cruijff's wish list were also the names of Pep Guardiola, Peter Bosz and Arne Slot, but they were not feasible for various reasons. Michel is highly regarded in Spain and made history with Girona in 2024 by qualifying for the Champions League. After his team was dismantled, the emotional Michel degraded his team from La Liga this season. Cruijff knows – with Frank Rijkaard as an example – that a relegation is no obstacle to a beautiful career. After Rijkaard was relegated with Sparta from the Eredivisie, he later became coach of the Dutch national team. Michel is proud to take this next step in his career. Ajax is a big name in Europe, a club that always produces young and good players. Jordi knows me from my work in Spain. We have spoken about the philosophy of the club, about how I work and how that will come together. He has expressed all his trust in me and together with the other people in the club we start a new challenge. The goal is to get Ajax back to where it belongs and I have all the confidence that this will succeed.