Much to the frustration of many a Manchester United supporter, there are those who continue to run the narrative about Erik ten Hag’s new signing supposedly flopping at his former employers.
Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.
It’s fair to say there a few inaccuracies and myths surrounding Matthijs de Ligt’s time at Bayern Munich, even Paul Scholes fell for one. And a lot of those can be dispelled by the sheer number of Bayern supporters who signed that now-infamous petition demanding that the Dutch international be retained.
A petition that, via Change.Org, now has over 70,000 signatures. Almost enough to fill every single seat in De Ligt’s new Old Trafford home.
It is no secret that Bayern’s backline is not quite up to the same rock-solid standards of the Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels era. And while De Ligt did struggle for consistency at times – that much is true – the feeling amongst the majority was that he was comfortably the best in a rather disappointing selection of centre-halves.
Bundesliga expert Konstantin Eckner claims that Manchester United’s number four was the best player in the division during the second half of Bayern’s 2022/23 title-winning campaign, via talkSPORT.
Former Bayern midfielder Dietmar Hamann was critical of his departure.
Sporting director Christoph Freund, meanwhile, has since indicated that this was a £38 million sale made for financial rather than footballing reasons, describing De Ligt as a ‘really good player’.
Bayern fans unhappy as Matthijs de Ligt joins Manchester United
The feeling amongst the Bayern faithful, meanwhile, can be summed up pretty succinctly by the message one supporter passed on to De Ligt’s wife, Annekee.
A message seemingly scrawled down on a waiter’s pad at an unknown restaurant, via FCB Inside.
“Nobody in the FCB family understands why you are leaving,” writes the mystery fan, posted via an Instagram story.
“In our opinion, you are our number one defender, and potential leader and captain of the team.”
Bayern’s loss, meanwhile, should be Man United’s gain.
Moving to Old Trafford alongside long-time team-mate Noussair Mazraoui, De Ligt was officially unveiled on his 25th birthday last week.
Despite his relatively youthful age, a man who captained Ajax as a teenager has already made over 300 club appearances while earning almost 50 caps for the Netherlands.
Erik ten Hag reunited with former Ajax duo
“There is big difference between on the pitch and off the pitch. Off the pitch, he is a really, really nice guy. A funny guy as well,” Mazraoui told the Man United official website of De Ligt during his introductory interview with the club’s in-house media channel.
“The third club (in which) we are going to play together. I don’t know what happens when he steps onto the pitch. He just changes into a monster!”
Mazraoui and De Ligt won multiple trophies together at Ajax and Bayern Munich. Erik ten Hag – averaging a piece of silverware per season as the Man United boss – will be hoping such a record can be maintained in 2024/25 and beyond.
“We started as a couple on the right-hand side. Then, we had a little break up but we came back together at Bayern with the same connection,” Mazraoui adds of De Ligt. “I hope at United we can show to the fans and to the world.
“It’s a new start.”
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