Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp remains open to the idea of joining the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Tom Brady as an EFL investor.
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Famous faces involved with Football League clubsDutch icon made previous play for WycombeWants to pass experience on to next generationWHAT HAPPENED?
The iconic former Netherlands international forward was involved in a bid that sought to take control of Wycombe Wanderers in 2019, with a number of his former team-mates joining him in that venture. No deal was done, but Bergkamp continues to keep an eye on the market for possible opportunities that could see him come into ownership competition with star turns at Wrexham and Birmingham City.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT BERGKAMP SAID
Bergkamp has told : “Wycombe Wanderers was a nice project – and we were very far along with it. It only fell through at the end. Together with Phillip Cocu, Ronald Koeman, Dirk Kuyt, Henrik Larsson and (agent) Rob Jansen we were going to buy the shares. It is still a dream of mine to develop players, run an academy, and use all our knowledge and experience to get promoted. Not with a foreign billionaire who puts in a lot of money just to go up quickly. If you have a group of former top footballers together then you just start lower. I am convinced that with a club in League One, with real football knowledge, you can get promoted to the Championship within five years, 10 years at most. We are not talking about the Premier League. That is a very difficult league to enter. I did go into Arsenal with some other Arsenal legends, together with Daniel Ek, but you can hardly move the owner of such a big club to sell in this day and age with the amounts that apply. The sale of Manchester United is also still not complete.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Bergkamp has been out of the game since leaving a coaching role at Ajax in 2017, but he is eager to put his vast experience and knowledge to good use. He added on what the future could hold: “I have never felt the need to make teams better. I have often had discussions about whether I can do that and, honestly, I don’t think I can. I am much more content working with the ball. I’ve never been much into it, systems, 4-3-3, 4-4-2, I don't feel it. What I do want is to explain in detail to the boy how he can function best. That is what I find almost beautiful. The bridging role at Ajax, from the youth in training to the first team, suited me best. That was also how I played, between the lines. I was not a midfielder, not a striker. What I want is to command respect and to know that people listen when you say a player is arriving from the youth and that they don't just move on to another older player. If I return to football – and I think I will – that is one of my main ambitions. I think I'm good at that.”
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR BERGKAMP?
Bergkamp spent 11 years with Arsenal in his playing days – scoring 120 goals through 423 appearances and helping the Gunners to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup triumphs. He is immortalised in north London with a statue outside Emirates Stadium, but could soon be back in England with a different club.