Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has signed defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus Turin for a lot of money. The high transfer fee does not mean any additional pressure for the Dutchman. He already does enough for himself. In the meantime, he quickly realized that FC Bayern was the right place for him.
FC Bayern Munich paid 67 million euros as a base fee to Italy’s record champions Juventus in order to guide 22-year-old Matthijs de Ligt to the Isar. According to reports, the sum could increase by another ten million euros if the agreed bonus payments take effect.
This leaves De Ligt just below the record sum of 80 million euros that Munich paid for defense colleague Lucas Hernández in the summer of 2019. The expectations of the new man are still enormous.
For de Ligt himself, however, the amount of the transfer is not an issue at all, as he clarified in an interview with “kicker”: “When you play for top clubs like Bayern Munich, you always have pressure. Whether you come for free or not, that stays the same. It definitely doesn’t matter to me because I always ask so much of myself that it’s pressure enough.”
“FC Bayern’s style of play suits me in my eyes”
In Munich, the newcomer is now fighting for his regular place in central defence, which is prominently occupied by French internationals Lucas Hernández and Dayot Upamecano. In Benjamin Pavard, another Frenchman could get his assignments in the center of defence.
De Ligt takes on the competition at his new club. He was “immediately interested” when those responsible in Munich first got in touch in June. One reason for his decision for the German record champions: “In my opinion, FC Bayern’s style of play suits me because the team is offensive.”
At his now ex-club Juventus Turin, to which he switched three years ago for at least 85.5 million euros, he still had two years of contract, but at the same time he had the “feeling that it was time for a new challenge , a new environment”. That’s why he decided to sign a new five-year contract with FC Bayern.