Matthijs de Ligt has crossed paths with Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford, but the former Ajax defender singled out one ex-Manchester United star for his impact.
The 26-year-old Dutchman is not at the World Cup with the Netherlands this summer after a longstanding back problem he suffered last season.
Matthijs de Ligt was sidelined for the majority of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign and the ex-Bayern Munich and Juventus defender underwent surgery in May.
The Netherlands international has not featured for Manchester United since the Red Devils’ 2-1 win against Premier League side Crystal Palace last November.
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Forget Bruno Fernandes, Matthijs de Ligt reveals why Man Utd legend Cristiano Ronaldo is one of his idols
Former Ajax skipper Matthijs de Ligt is all too familiar with Bruno Fernandes after crossing paths with the 31-year-old Manchester United captain at Old Trafford.
De Ligt first arrived at the Red Devils in 2024 after he was reunited with former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, following his exit from German side Bayern Munich.
Despite sharing the pitch with the likes of Fernandes, De Ligt has been deeply influenced by other footballing figures, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Speaking to Manchester United’s official website, De Ligt admitted that United legend Ronaldo would be considered as one of his “idols” while he was growing up.
“I think I was around seven or eight when United won the Champions League,” he said.
“And he was just, at that time, obviously, he was one of the biggest players in the world.
“He had this style that everybody wanted to copy. So, yeah, probably he would be one of my first idols.”
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Matthijs de Ligt crossed paths with Cristiano Ronaldo in his career, but not as teammates at Man Utd
Cristiano Ronaldo left the Red Devils for the second time in 2022 ahead of De Ligt’s reunion with former Ajax and United manager Erik ten Hag.
But De Ligt has faced the 41-year-old Portuguese forward at club level while he was at Juventus and crossed paths with Ronaldo on the international stage as well.
Ronaldo was also a teammate of De Ligt in his remarkable playing career after the former Man Utd superstar left Real Madrid and signed for Juventus in 2018.
De Ligt’s success at Ajax would see him link up with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at the Turin-based club after his high-profile 2019 transfer to Juventus.
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