Football: Patrick Kluivert becomes PSG football director

Former Dutch player Patrick Kluivert playing with the ball during the training of the Dutch football club NEC. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP) - Dutch football legend Patrick Kluivert on Thursday joined Paris Saint-Germain as football director to oversee the French champions' new coach Unai Emery.

Kluivert, 40, had been national coach for Curacao and for Ajax Amsterdam's youth team.

"I am extremely honoured to join such a great club as Paris Saint-Germain and to take on the role of director of football," Kluivert said in a statement released by PSG.

The Dutch star "will play an active role in the national and international development of the club and will also be charged with defining the club's long-term sporting strategy," the statement added.

"I will conduct my mission with great ambition and rigour," said Kluivert, who played for Ajax Amsterdam, AC Milan, Barcelona, Newcastle United, Valencia, PSV Eindhoven and Lille between 1994 and 2008.

He won the Champions League in 1995 with Milan.

Kluivert was assistant to Louis van Gaal when he managed the Dutch team who came third at the 2014 World Cup.

"We are all in Paris to reach the very high objectives set by the club and meet the expectations of the players and supporters alike," he added.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: "I am convinced that his great football expertise and passion for the game will help even more the club continue its fast international growth."

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