Farioli leaves Ajax after title miss agony

Head coach Francesco Farioli has left Ajax in the wake of an end-of-season collapse that cost them the Eredivisie title.

Ajax were top of the Dutch top flight with a nine-point lead with seven games to go but on Sunday ended up finishing a point behind champions PSV Eindhoven.

Italian Farioli, 36, leaves after one season, having joined the club on a three-year contract last summer.

"The management and I have the same goals for the future of Ajax, but we have different visions and timeframes about the way we should work and operate to achieve those goals," he said.

"Given these differences in the principles and foundations of the project, I feel deep in my heart that this is the best moment to part ways."

Ajax technical director Alex Kroes said, despite missing out on the title, the club had achieved its aim of qualifying for the Champions League under Farioli and found his departure "incredibly disappointing".

"Francesco also played a key role in enhancing the high-performance culture at Ajax, for which we are extremely grateful," said Kroes.

"This summer was already set to be a challenging transfer window, and it has now become even more so. It is up to us to ensure that a strong new coaching team is in place when pre-season preparations begin on 26 June."