Arokodare jokes he will ‘kill’ Ajax manager Michel Sanchez

Tolu Arokodare says his relationship with Ajax manager Michel Sanchez is built on “love and respect” – despite the disagreements between them.

The striker praised Sanchez’s approach while admitting he sometimes finds it difficult to accept the way he is coached.

“When you love someone, you do everything you can to help them become better,” Arokodare said. “When you love someone, you cannot simply indulge them when you are telling them the truth.”

Arokodare also said he valued Sanchez’s personality and believed the manager regularly brought the best out of him, even when they did not see things in the same way.

“I also like his personality,” he said. “Sometimes I do not agree with the way he trains me, but very often he ends up getting the best out of me.”

The Ajax striker then made a sharp joke about the pressure he puts on his manager.

“I always say that one day I will kill him. It is going to happen,” Arokodare said. “Not physically, but he is old and suffers from hypertension. I am going to stress him so much that he will die.”

Although the pair may differ over certain decisions, Arokodare accepts that Sanchez has the final say as manager.

“As a coach, you always have an idea of how you want the player to play, but on the pitch you feel it differently,” he said.

“He is the coach, so he is the boss. I do my best to listen to him as much as possible.”