Dévy Rigaux appointed as Feyenoord's new technical director

In that role, Rigaux was jointly responsible for the technical policy of the Belgian top club, the evaluation and selection of coaching staff, transfer policy and upholding the Club Brugge footballing philosophy. Prior to his role as director of football, Rigaux held various other positions at Club Brugge, including youth coach, team manager and recruitment manager.

'We are absolutely delighted to welcome Dévy,' said Toon van Bodegom, chairman of Feyenoord's Supervisory Board. 'The search for a technical director has of course been ongoing for some time, and as a board we have considered and spoken with a number of potential candidates. With Dennis te Kloese's departure and the transfer window approaching, it was clearly important to move forward in the process on this position as well.'

'With Dévy Rigaux, we are bringing in one of the most highly regarded technical directors in European football. At Club Brugge, he demonstrated an excellent eye for emerging talent. He also shares the vision we hold at Feyenoord: that the academy is the lifeblood of the club. That is also why we are convinced that Rigaux is the right man to further refine our technical policy and drive Feyenoord to new sporting heights.'

Rigaux himself says he is eagerly looking forward to the move to Rotterdam. 'Feyenoord is a fantastic club to be joining. There is a solid foundation at De Kuip, the academy at Varkenoord is bursting with talent, and there have been considerable sporting successes. Mine is the honourable task of building on that. That is a wonderful challenge that I am grabbing with both hands.'

'Leaving Club Brugge for this wonderful step will of course be painful, but I look back on my time there with enormous gratitude and affection. I have experienced every brilliant aspect of the club, learned a huge amount and won many trophies. I am taking all of those experiences with me to Feyenoord. I cannot wait to get started.'