Paris (AFP) – Dutch football legend Marco van Basten will leave his post as FIFA’s technical director after reaching a “mutual agreement”, world football’s ruling body announced Friday.

Former Ajax and AC Milan striker Van Basten joined FIFA in 2016 but will quit his post at the end of October to “spend more time with my family”, according to a FIFA statement.

Van Basten is still held in high esteem by football aficionados worldwide having scored some wonder goals for both club and country during a sparkling career that saw the Dutchman win the Ballon d’Or three times, in 1988, 1989 and 1992.

At FIFA, he helped oversee many technical aspects of the modern game, including technological innovations and refereeing.

He notably contributed to the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) which FIFA deployed for the first time at a major international tournament during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.