If FC Bayern spends almost 70 million euros on a player, he should fill a key role in the team. But for Matthijs de Ligt, the record champions’ plan has not yet worked. Recently there have been rumors of discord between the injury-prone defender and coach Thomas Tuchel, and there is also talk of a departure. Will the collaboration end up as an expensive misunderstanding?
As his teammates completed their final sessions in Portugal’s mild climate before returning to Germany, Matthijs de Ligt was once again condemned to watch at FC Bayern. A capsule injury slowed the Dutchman down in the training camp.
The 24-year-old now has a great opportunity to finally make himself indispensable.
His closest competitor in the race for a regular place in the defense center, the South Korean Min-jae Kim, is currently at the Asian Cup in Qatar, and the casting for the position next to Dayot Upamecano is in full swing.
De Ligt could miss the home game against Werder Bremen on Sunday (3:30 p.m.), winter newcomer Eric Dier may instead make his debut for the second-placed team in the Bundesliga.
If the Englishman takes action, de Ligt’s prospects of playing time will likely decline further. After just a year and a half on Säbener Straße, the defensive man is already at a crossroads.
Matthijs de Ligt is having a bad year at FC Bayern
De Ligt was originally supposed to be the new head of defense at FC Bayern. In 2022, the club transferred a whopping 67 million euros to Juventus Turin for former coach Julian Nagelsmann’s dream player – only Harry Kane (95 million euros) and Lucas Hernández (80 million euros) were more expensive in the Munich club’s history.
De Ligt’s debut year with the German industry leader, who had once wanted to let him go from Ajax Amsterdam, went quite well. While many teammates were weak, the Orange star was rock solid at the back. In the “kicker” ranking, he was the defender with the best grades in the entire league (Ø 2.88).
In the current season, however, nothing wants to come together for de Ligt. Sometimes a blow to the knee stopped him, then a torn medial ligament, now the capsular injury. There are only twelve competitive games in 2023/2024.
Upamecano and Kim took advantage of the opportunity and established themselves as a duo in the defensive center. De Ligt is desperately fighting for connection. The problem: Head coach Thomas Tuchel is not said to be the biggest fan of the massive winner.
FC Bayern: Problems between Tuchel and de Ligt?
During the week, “Sport Bild” revealed that the relationship between player and coach was “strained”. It was said that Tuchel didn’t like de Ligt’s build-up to the game, which in turn caused the 24-year-old to be incomprehensible.
According to reports, saying goodbye in the summer has recently become an issue. De Ligt is contractually bound to FC Bayern until 2027, but sees himself in a leadership role. If he doesn’t get this, he could force a change of scenery.
If the worst comes to the worst, there should be no shortage of interested parties: the Dutchman, who is strong in the air and around whom there was huge hype at Ajax in 2019, still enjoys an excellent reputation in the industry to this day.
According to “Sky” information, his former sponsor Erik ten Hag would like to capitalize on the unsatisfactory situation at FC Bayern and bring de Ligt to Manchester United; Arsenal FC and Real Madrid are also considered curious.
Matthijs de Ligt earns handsomely at FC Bayern
At FC Bayern, the speculation about de Ligt’s departure has so far been skillfully ignored, and they have certainly not yet completely given up on their hopes for him.
Sooner or later, however, the question could arise in the executive suite as to whether a transfer fee of 67 million euros and a (rumored) annual salary of allegedly 16 million euros were or are appropriate for a professional without a regular place.
The situation around de Ligt must be assessed again after the return series at the latest. It cannot be ruled out that one of the two sides will then lower its thumb.
Heiko Lütkehus