Matthijs de Ligt: Juventus sign defender from Ajax in a £67.5m deal

Last updated on 18 July 2019.From the section European Football384

Netherlands international Matthijs de Ligt — De Ligt scored the winner for Ajax against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals last season

Italian champions Juventus have completed the £67.5m signing of 19-year-old Dutch international defender Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax.

De Ligt, who had also been linked with Manchester United, Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, has signed a five-year contract with the Serie A side.

Juventus said the fee was "payable in five financial years" with "additional costs of 10.5m euros (£9m)".

De Ligt helped Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals last season.

He made his debut for the Amsterdam club in 2016 and became their youngest captain in March 2018.

De Ligt scored eight goals in 77 league appearances, winning the Dutch domestic league and cup double last season, as well as reaching a Europa League final in 2017.

He scored the winning goal against Juve to send Ajax through to the Champions League semi-finals last season, where they lost to Tottenham.

The defender made his debut for the Netherlands in March 2017, having started only two league games for Ajax at the time.

Ajax tweet following Matthijs de Ligt moving to Juventus — De Ligt joined Ajax as a nine-year-old

Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

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384 comments

Comment posted by Gaffers, at 08:20 18 Jul 2019
Piemonte Calcio looking good this year
Comment posted by sabre84, at 09:12 18 Jul 2019
@31 Well he bumped Kane off the Park in the CL Semi Final
...................................

He must be some player to be able to do that considering kane didnt play in the semis
Comment posted by Peter Griffin, at 08:18 18 Jul 2019
He must be deLigt'ed
Comment posted by Thomas Brown, at 08:15 18 Jul 2019
If it was a case of highest bidder winning then it is bonkers Man Utd have opted to go for Maguire for £75m+ instead. Shows how ridiculous the club has become.

Good luck to the kid at Juve though - sound management by them to do in instalments too
Comment posted by Ben, at 08:15 18 Jul 2019
A lot of money but to be fair seems like an exceptional talent, so probably a good deal for Juve. By comparison seems unbelievable that Maguire is valued upwards of £70m.
Comment posted by JCVegas, at 08:19 18 Jul 2019
Christ - what an absolute bargain :-0 !! And Utd seem intent on Maguire for 80m. Another tough season ahead :-(
Comment posted by John Harrison, at 09:05 18 Jul 2019
In Italy, and especially with Juve, he'll learn the art of defending like nowhere else. Much better for him than joining Barcelona, who don't seem to bother too much with defence.
Comment posted by Think outside the box, at 08:34 18 Jul 2019
People need to get a grip with reality and stop saying the world or football has gone mad.

As for Harry Maguire being valued more than this lad, football has gone absolutely mad.
Comment posted by Matt Legg, at 09:12 18 Jul 2019
I Love how caring Ajax come across when a player leaves. No bitterness or Quick post to say they have left. Its like a family member leaving the home.
Comment posted by Nandos, at 08:33 18 Jul 2019
It wasn't the case of highest bidder winning. Man utd and PSG would have offered a lot more to Ajax and given a greater contract to the player.

It was De Ligt that wanted to play for Juventus and noone else, thats why Ajax had to accept their offer.

And leicester can charge Man utd what they want for Maguire now, they know they are desperate.
Comment posted by chriswvtr, at 08:34 18 Jul 2019
People saying United should have gone in for him instead of Maguire haven't taken into account that there's no way De Ligt would have chosen mid-table and Europa League over a guaranteed title and Champions League 😂
Comment posted by George_1985, at 09:19 18 Jul 2019
For everyone who is "not sure about his qualities"...

...19 years old. Captain of an Ajax-side that knocked out Real and Juve...
Asked by Ronaldo personally to please come and be his teammate.

What more could he have possibly done to be branded even more of a talent?
Comment posted by Wee Brian, at 08:19 18 Jul 2019
I’m not a fan of Juventus by any manner of means as they are one of those entitled clubs who think they can call the shots on the reorganisation of European competition, with themselves obviously at the forefront.
Nevertheless this signing added to deals they have already completed gives them a tremendously strong squad.
Comment posted by D1679400558106, at 08:20 18 Jul 2019
If Maguire does to Utd for more then this then Utd are officially mugs.
Comment posted by Jonathon, at 08:38 18 Jul 2019
It's all very well saying United have made the wrong choice going after Maguire but they reality is that they don't have the ability to attract the big names anymore.
Comment posted by Spoggy Dog, at 09:43 18 Jul 2019
96. You need to remember the approximate £140 million Liverpool made from their last two Champions League campaigns and the money they received for Coutinho - they have actually spent less net than almost any other rival. FFP takes into account income to the club - of which MC and Juve have a lot less!
Comment posted by Ashley, at 08:35 18 Jul 2019
Maguire is worth more because he had a 'great' World Cup* And by that I mean England beat Tunisia in injury time, Sweden … (and Panama). What a successful tournament for 'waistcoat' and the lads that was!
Comment posted by Snifo07, at 08:57 18 Jul 2019
31 - Spot on, he never gave Kane a sniff in the two semi finals, that's how good he is. He also managed to stop Pele, Van Basten, Messi and Maradona scoring as well along with pretty much anyone else you can think of who didn't actually play in those matches. Quite a feet of defending really when you think about it.
Comment posted by Rob Herriott, at 08:32 18 Jul 2019
This is sound business by Juventus, and dare I say a real bargain. They’ll get 15yrs out of him, and we already know what a star he is from his exploits with Ajax. If they do decide to sell at some point, he’ll be a £100m+ player.
Makes you laugh when you consider that Man Utd are looking to lump £90m on Harry Maguire!
Comment posted by PixelJared, at 08:44 18 Jul 2019
I thought he'd go for a LOT more than that!

Good deal for Juve.

Man Utd fans must be scratching their heads wondering how Maguire is valued at £80m !?

Let be honest...is he that much of an upgrade on Phil Jones?