BAYERN MUNICH DIRECTOR TELLS MAN UTD WORRYING REASON THEY GREENLIT DE LIGT SALE DESPITE FAN OUTRAGE

Bayern Munich’s sporting director has outlined why Matthijs de Ligt was sold to Manchester United and one reason in particular could concern Erik ten Hag.

Man Utd signed three new defenders over the summer, two at centre-half and the other a full-back.

Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt both arrived from Bayern Munich. Leny Yoro joined from Lille after the Red Devils blew fellow suitor Real Madrid away from a financial perspective.

While De Ligt’s transfer saga was rumbling on, large sections of the Bayern fanbase launched a petition to block De Ligt’s sale.

Now, Bayern’s sporting director, Max Eberl, has outlined two reasons why the club followed through with the exit.

The first was the simple fact of Bayern needing to sell players and raise funds. The second relates to De Ligt’s playing ability and may concern Ten Hag.

“I followed it, including the petition,” Eberl told a press conference (as quoted by the Mirror). “I know that many fans identify with him.

“Nevertheless, I had to make this decision because we also had to sell players.

“We felt more comfortable with [Dayot] Upamecano and Kim [Min-jae] because they can defend higher up the pitch.

“And then an offer came in for De Ligt.”

In effect, Eberl is saying Bayern believed De Ligt was too slow and not mobile enough to thrive in a high defensive line.

What De Ligt petition said

Over 70,000 people signed the petition to block De Ligt’s sale to Man Utd.

The petition read: “We all want Matthijs de Ligt to stay at FC Bayern Munich! He has proven that he’s a world-class defender, probably the best in our squad.

“There is a reason why he was elected as our best player in the 2022/23 season. Furthermore he is only 24 years old and has a bright future ahead, which he is going to use to fulfil his huge potential.

“Despite his young age, Mattha is already very mature and has a great mentality which will definitely make him a leading figure in defence and probably a competitor for captaincy in some years.

“His ability to speak English, German and Dutch fluently would help him a lot for that. With 19 years he already brought Ajax Amsterdam to the UCL semi finals as captain.

“Selling Matthijs de Ligt would be an absolutely horrible decision and we would definitely regret it. That’s why we use our voice to call attention that we will NOT make this mistake!”

Ultimately, De Ligt was sold to Man Utd for a package worth €50m (€45m plus €5m in add-ons).

Man Utd miss out on centre-back and midfielder

Elsewhere, it’s since emerged Man Utd attempted to sign a former Barcelona centre-back over the summer.

The player’s representative has detailed why his client “didn’t like” the option of joining Man Utd.

Faint hopes of Man Utd landing Adrien Rabiot on a free transfer have ended amid news of Marseille securing an agreement with the Frenchman.

Finally, Man Utd treble winner Dwight Yorke has delivered a scathing assessment on the current state of the Red Devils.

Man Utd’s most expensive defender transfers

De Ligt’s €50m (£42.8m / $55.6m) arrival placed him fifth on Man Utd’s all-time list of most expensive defender signings.

Harry Maguire retains top spot and at £80m, actually remains the most expensive defender of all time.

A handful of defender transfers since then have come close, such as Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City – £77.6m) and Wesley Fofana (£75m). But for the time being the honour is Maguire’s.

New Man Utd recruit Yoro is United’s second most expensive defender (£58.9m), with Lisandro Martinez third (£56.7m), Aaron Wan-Bissaka fourth (£50m) and De Ligt now fifth.

Who places sixth to ninth can be found here – including an icon signed all the way back in 2002.

2024-09-16T08:44:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd