Feyenoord’s New Technical Director Under Fire: Concerns Arise
Dévy Rigaux has barely closed his first transfer window at Feyenoord and the knives are already out. In De Telegraaf’s Kick-off podcast, Valentijn Driessen and Mike Verweij tear into the new technical director, questioning both his market work and the way he presents himself.
Verweij does not mince his words. That now infamous round-table session Rigaux held with several journalists set off all his alarms.
“When I look at that round-table discussion by Rigaux with several journalists, I really fear the worst,” he says, before drawing a loaded comparison. “I hope this does not become the new Sven Mislintat.”
The name alone tells its own story in Dutch football. At Ajax, Mislintat became a symbol of chaotic recruitment and broken trust. Verweij sees echoes of that in Rotterdam.
Naive on transfers, soft on the truth?
Verweij picks apart Rigaux’s remarks one by one. The first target: Rigaux’s stance on Hadj Moussa.
“He says: ‘No club is allowed to talk to Hadj Moussa, because he has an ongoing contract.’ Well, that is very naive, because it happens everywhere,” Verweij argues. In other words: this is how the game works at the top level, whether anyone likes it or not.
Then comes the case of Read and the supposed bid from Roma. Rigaux insisted there was no offer of 30 million euros, pointing instead to an “official bid” of 26 million. Verweij calls that framing.
“He also says there was no bid of 30 million for Read, with Rigaux hiding behind the ‘official bid’ of 26 million. But in telephone contact Roma immediately indicated they wanted to move towards that 30 million.”
The accusation is clear: Rigaux may be technically correct on paper, but he is not telling the full story of how close the deal came.
Second Bundesliga signings and media hype
Verweij then reaches for that Mislintat comparison again, this time on recruitment.
“He brings in players from the second Bundesliga,” he notes pointedly. The implication is familiar: shopping in a lower league while Feyenoord aim to operate among Europe’s elite.
There is another parallel that bothers him. “And another similarity is that you can sense in the media that everyone is over the moon with Rigaux, as if a world wonder has walked in. That was also the case with Mislintat.”
The pattern, as he sees it: smooth talk, warm headlines, and a transfer policy that may not match the fanfare.
Driessen: “A scandalous round-table discussion”
Valentijn Driessen then steps in and raises the temperature.
“It was truly a scandalous round-table discussion!” he snaps. His main irritation lies in how Rigaux spoke about his predecessor, Dennis te Kloese.
According to Driessen, Rigaux did not attack Te Kloese directly, but he certainly cast a shadow over the previous regime. “The way he spoke about Dennis te Kloese... He did not say it directly, but he did let all kinds of things slip about the Te Kloese period. Too many players, far too much in wages, too many write-downs... He knew what he was getting into, didn't he?”
Driessen’s point: Rigaux accepted the job with eyes open. Complaining about the inheritance now sounds like an excuse in advance.
He then challenges Rigaux’s promise of a “completely different way” of working.
“Well, I'm very curious whether in that, according to him, ‘completely different way’ he is going to achieve the same results as Dennis te Kloese,” Driessen fumes.
Champions League warning shot
For Driessen, the issue is not just style. It is sporting reality. He looks at the current squad and sees a European campaign heading for trouble.
“You can go into the Champions League with this team, but you will finish bottom without a chance,” he warns. The follow-up question hits the heart of Feyenoord’s strategy. “And then what is the value of Read, Hadj Moussa and Zechiël?”
If Feyenoord crash out early and the team underperforms, the carefully calculated resale value of those players could evaporate quickly. That is the risk he lays at Rigaux’s door.
“Everyone falls for his slick talk”
Verweij then fires one last broadside and returns to that Mislintat theme for a fourth time.
“Everyone falls for his slick talk!” he says of Rigaux, pointing to the way the new technical director has been received publicly.
He illustrates it with a sharp example: Tjark Ernst. Rigaux has talked up the goalkeeper as potential “material for Die Mannschaft”, but Verweij is unimpressed.
“Tjark Ernst, material for Die Mannschaft... Every diagonal ball is a goal conceded!”
The verdict from the podcast table is brutal. To them, Feyenoord’s new architect talks big, enjoys a generous media reception, and leans on a transfer policy that carries serious risk.
The question now is not how Rigaux speaks at a round-table, but how his Feyenoord will look when the Champions League anthem starts and there is nowhere left to hide.
