After a couple of weeks of back-and-forth between Juventus and Bayern Munich, Matthijs De Ligt is headed to Bavaria. The Bianconeri have reportedly accepted the latest proposal. Instead, the player had long come to terms with his new team.
The defender had raised doubts about staying right after the end of the season, the second in a row where the Old Lady did not compete for the Scudetto. The Bavarians’ CEO Oliver Khan stated Sunday that the Dutchman wanted to join them. The two clubs de facto came to terms a few hours later.
According to Corriere della Sera, Bayern Munich will acquire De Ligt for €85M including add-ons. They improved their previous bid by €10/15M after selling Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona. The Bianconeri originally requested €100M but ended up not putting up particularly fierce resistance, even though they tried to convince him to stay.
The prodigy moved to Turin three years ago in a €75M move from Ajax. He accumulated 87 appearances and scored 8 goals. He contributed to winning one Scudetto, one Coppa Italia and one Supercoppa Italiana. The lack of continental success, and his short-term contract, played a major role in his prospective transfer.
Our Take on Juventus Selling De Ligt to Bayern Munich
The sum is massive, but one has to wonder if the Bianconeri could have gotten more by waiting. Probably they sensed they had to act quickly to land one of the replacements. The Dutchman has been solid but did not live up to his previous price tag and salary. Factoring in the pandemic and other botched moves, he eventually became too expensive for the club. He probably would have grown into the perfect Giorgio Chiellini heir down the line, but somebody else will have to take the burdensome mantle.