Bayern Munich confirm £68m arrival of Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus as the Dutch defender says that ‘genuine appreciation’ from the club convinced him to sign a five-year deal amid interest from Chelsea
- Matthijs de Ligt leaves Juventus after three years having joined in 2019
- Defender had been reluctant to sign a deal beyond his final two years at the club
- The Dutchman joins Bayern Munich from Juventus for a reported £68m fee
Bayern Munich have confirmed the signing of Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus in a deal said to be worth around £68m.
The Dutch defender, 22, had been the subject of much speculation this summer but Bayern Munich have won the race for his signature despite interest from elsewhere, including Chelsea.
De Ligt had been reluctant to sign a new deal with Juventus beyond the final two years of his initial five-year deal with the club and as such they were happy to cash in on the Dutchman this window.
Matthijs de Ligt has joined Bayern Munich on a five-year deal from Italian giants Juventus
Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic (R) said the club was delighted to have signed de Ligt
The Holland international has signed a long-term contract with the German champions until 2027.
Speaking upon the confirmation of the signing, De Ligt told Bayern Munich’s website: ‘I’m very happy to become a player for this great club. FC Bayern are the most successful club in Germany, one of the most successful clubs in Europe and in the world.
‘I felt the genuine appreciation from the sporting management, the coach and the board right from the start, which convinced me,’ he added.
The Dutch defender joins the club on a five-year deal until 2027 as the club look to push on
‘On top of that, FC Bayern is a brilliantly run club with big aims. I’m very glad that I’m now becoming part of the FC Bayern story,’ he went on to say.
Meanwhile, club president, Herbert Hainer said that De Ligt was a ‘big target’ for the club and with his signing the club’s aims are achievable.
‘Matthijs de Ligt was a top target for us. With signings like this, the big aims that we have are achievable,’ he said.
‘The future face of our team is increasingly taking shape, and this transfer is an important building block in the overall concept that we’re gradually putting into place. De Ligt should become a mainstay at FC Bayern.’
Controversial sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic echoed Hainer’s sentiments and said that the club had wanted to bring him in three years ago when his stunning performances for Ajax in the Champions League alerted a host of top European clubs to his talent.
Having performed superbly for Ajax in the Champions League in 2018-19, Bayern Munich had wanted to sign the defender that summer
‘I’m very happy that Matthijs de Ligt will be playing for FC Bayern in the future. We wanted to bring Matthijs to Munich three years ago; we were already convinced by his qualities as a defender back then, and today we’re even more so,’ Salihamidzic said.
De Ligt’s signing marks a positive move in Bayern Munich’s summer after a difficult start in which it emerged a number of players wished to depart the Bavarian side.
Robert Lewandowski has since joined Barcelona but the club managed to convince Serge Gnabry to remain in Germany while signing Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
De Ligt enjoyed a positive start to life in Turin, winning the Scudetto in his first season at the club but thereafter struggled at points as the Bianconeri lost their stranglehold on the Italian league title to Inter Milan and AC Milan.
A video shared by the club’s official Twitter account showed the defender breaking open a bottle with a shirt in
