Marc Overmars resigns as Royal Antwerp sporting director citing depleted energy and health fears

Marc Overmars has resigned as sporting director at Royal Antwerp, the Belgian club announced on Wednesday, with the former Arsenal and Netherlands winger citing deteriorating health and the risk of serious consequences if he continued in the role.

In an open letter to supporters, Overmars explained that years of accumulated fatigue and stress had left him unable to sustain the demands of professional football management. “My energy is now completely depleted,” he wrote. “If I do not listen to my body now, my doctors say there is a very high risk of things ending badly. So I have to make a drastic decision and completely stop my professional activities for the time being.”

Overmars, 51, had already suffered a mild stroke in December 2022, shortly after joining Antwerp. His letter acknowledged that his health had remained fragile since: “You all know that my health has not been optimal. But now I feel very clearly that I can no longer cope with this hectic, stressful professional life.”

Before his move to Belgium, Overmars spent nearly a decade as director of football at Ajax, the club where he began his playing career. He resigned from that position in February 2022 after admitting to sending inappropriate messages to several female colleagues, behaviour for which he publicly apologised.

As a player, Overmars was one of the most electrifying wingers of his generation. He joined Arsenal from Ajax in 1997 and made an immediate impact, scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford as the Gunners claimed the Premier League and FA Cup double in his debut season. He spent three years at Highbury before moving to Barcelona in 2000 in a deal that made him the most expensive Dutch player in history at the time.

Overmars earned 86 caps for the Netherlands between 1993 and 2004, scoring 17 international goals and featuring in four major tournaments. He was part of the Dutch squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup in France and played at both Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. He ended his playing career at Go Ahead Eagles in his homeland.