Dévy Rigaux Faces Criticism Over Transfer Window Performance

Valentijn Driessen and Mike Verweij are already sounding the alarm over Dévy Rigaux. Feyenoord’s new technical director has barely closed his first transfer window, yet in the eyes of the De Telegraaf duo, he has started on the wrong foot.

Their verdict in the Kick-off podcast is blunt: this window has been “no success at all.”

Fear of a “new Mislintat”

Verweij does not hide his concern. That much was clear the moment he watched Rigaux’s recent round-table session with journalists.

“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 reference is deliberate. At Ajax, Mislintat became the symbol of a chaotic, short-lived era marked by controversial signings and internal friction. Linking Rigaux to that name is not casual criticism; it is a warning.

Verweij zooms in on specific statements from Rigaux. One in particular grates.

“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.”

The same goes for Rigaux’s comments about an offer from Roma for Read. Rigaux publicly spoke of an “official bid” of 26 million and denied there had been a 30 million offer. Verweij paints a different picture of the negotiations.

“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.”

For Verweij, that kind of wording feels like playing with semantics rather than being fully transparent.

Second Bundesliga and media hype

Then comes another parallel with Mislintat: the transfer market profile.

“He brings in players from the second Bundesliga,” Verweij notes, again evoking the former Ajax director’s shopping pattern in Germany’s lower tier.

What irritates him even more is the reception Rigaux is getting.

“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 message is clear: they have seen this movie before, and they do not like the opening scenes.

Driessen: “Scandalous” round-table

Driessen goes a step further and targets the tone Rigaux used when talking about the period under Dennis te Kloese.

“It was truly a scandalous round-table discussion!” he snaps. “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?”

For Driessen, Rigaux is distancing himself too easily from his predecessor while enjoying the platform that Feyenoord’s recent success has created.

“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,” he fumes.

Then he hits the sporting core of his criticism.

“You can go into the Champions League with this team, but you will finish bottom without a chance. And then what is the value of Read, Hadj Moussa and Zechiël?”

The concern is not just about image or communication. It is about whether this squad, built under Rigaux’s guidance, can stand up at the highest level and protect the club’s sporting and financial position.

“Everyone falls for his slick talk”

Verweij closes the comparison circle with a fourth reference to Mislintat, this time aimed at the way Rigaux sells his ideas.

“Everyone falls for his slick talk!” he says, before picking out an example: the assessment of goalkeeper Tjark Ernst.

“Tjark Ernst, material for Die Mannschaft... Every diagonal ball is a goal conceded!”

The sarcasm is unmistakable. For Verweij, the rhetoric around certain signings is wildly out of step with what they have actually shown on the pitch.

So the honeymoon for Dévy Rigaux in Rotterdam is already under pressure. Feyenoord’s new technical boss talks about a “completely different way.” The question now is simple: will that way lead to Champions League nights with substance, or to an expensive reality check that this club has seen before?