„In an interview with the NOS I said in June that – as the club itself believes – to be fourth in a row with Juventus twice is not good enough. That was not an attack on Juventus. Not at all, because I will always have the utmost respect for this club. For me it was just a fact that no one could be satisfied, that the bar had to be raised, including me! Maybe it was taken over or came across incorrectly,” said De Ligt, who speaks fondly of his old club.
“I will never forget how my former teammates helped me in my development as a footballer and as a person and to ground at the club. In my last year, Louis van Gaal and Massimiliano Allegri, for the first time in my career, I had two trainers who didn’t put me in the starting lineup and didn’t feel confident. Before that I always had coaches who were fans of me and then it is easy to perform. At Juventus I learned that it really has to come from within yourself.”