Bayern director reveals reason for De Ligt’s sale to Manchester United
Manchester United signed two players from Bayern Munich this summer in Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. The former Ajax Amsterdam duo reunited with the Eredivisie side’s ex-coach, Erik ten Hag, and both players have already established themselves as key fixtures in their new team’s starting eleven.
They are two much-needed defensive reinforcements for Man United given their injury issues from last season, as well as a leaky backline which eventually led them to their worst ever Premier League finish in 2023/24 – eighth.
De Ligt’s signing is particularly a grand affair given how impressive he was the last time he worked with Ten Hag during the 2018/19 season at Ajax Amsterdam in which they qualified together to the Champions League semi-final by defeating the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid.
He was a much-loved figure at Bayern Munich as well with the fans publicly opposing his signing by launching a petition, which eventually garnered 70,000 signatures. Nonetheless, the Bavarians decided to take a decisive step regarding his future which their sporting director Max Eberl has finally spoken about (h/t TEAMTalk), as he said:
“I know that many fans identify with him. Nevertheless, I had to make this decision because we also had to sell players. We felt more comfortable with [Dayot] Upamecano and Kim [Min-jae] because they can defend higher up the pitch. And then an offer came
in for De Ligt.”
Manchester United signed De Ligt for a fee that could rise up to £48 million, which in the longer run could prove to be a bargain. It is true that he has struggled in a high defensive line with the stark difference in his form between Juventus and Bayern Munich being a clear indicator of that, but it is now up to Erik ten Hag to get the best out of his compatriot.
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The defender was also criticised for his displays during the international break for Netherlands but responded to his critics with a man of the match display against Southampton last weekend. How his United career progresses will be interesting to see but it goes without saying that there is a huge weight of expectations on De Ligt’s shoulders.
