0301.html

Impasse overcome: Pienaar signs improved contract

28 February: While Ajax's "rebel without a cause", Mido, dominated the headlines, there was also good and equally remarkable news from the Amsterdam ArenA: Ajax and Steven Pienaar have found a way out of the deadlock in the young South-African's contract talks. Pienaar and his agent accepted Ajax's new offer. Pienaar is tied to Ajax until the summer of 2006.

Pienaar is the third Ajax youngster in ten days' time to sign an improved contract until the summer of 2006. In Pienaar's case in particular, the news came as a pleasant surprise. Less than two weeks ago, technical director Leo Beenhakker announced that he had "a positive feeling" about the negotiations with Rafaël van der Vaart, Nigel de Jong, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hatem Trabelsi, but that he was "not as positive" about Pienaar.

The problem was a special clause in Pienaar's contract with Ajax, in which the club committed to raising Pienaar's wages if he made more than fifteen appearances in the first team in one season. Pienaar, one of the revelations of the season so far, already played 19 official games for Ajax-1. Ajax therefore made him a new offer, which was too low according to the player's agent. The player himself, meanwhile, claimed that he did not care about money and wanted to stay in Amsterdam.

This morning, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf announced that the negotiations were "completely stuck". A couple of hours later, the good news was announced at the ArenA.

Pienaar on Ajax.nl: "I am happy that all this is over. Everyone was talking about my contract lately, now all that matters is football. It didn't really bother me, by the way. I think my performances have been good lately (...) I suppose it helps if you play well. I'm happy now. I always am."

Steven Pienaar is the first player from Ajax's South-African brand Ajax Cape Town to make the 'big step' to Amsterdam. He made his Ajax-1 début just over one year ago, on 24 February 2002 in the Eredivisie away game at NAC. His current totals for Ajax: 23 Eredivisie games (8 goals), 8 Champions League games (1 goal) and 3 Amstel Cup games. On 23 May 2002 Pienaar won his first 'cap' for Bafana Bafana, the South-African national team. (MP)

(Source: Ajax.nl)