New Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany reportedly did not want to sell Matthijs De Ligt this summer. The Dutch center-back was previously regarded as one of the top young players in his position in all of Europe. As a result, Bayern brass eagerly paid Juventus $74 million to sign the star just two years ago. Nevertheless, De Ligt recently moved from the German giants to Manchester United in a deal worth around $50 million.
De Ligt’s time in Germany may not exactly be looked back upon fondly. The defender did help Bayern collect a Bundesliga title in his first season with the club. However, his playing time eventually dwindled in 2023. This came during a time in which Thomas Tuchel replaced Julian Nagelsmann as the team’s head coach.
Under the new manager, De Ligt had fierce competition in central defense alongside Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano. Both players are rated highly by just about every top coach on the continent. Bayern also elected to bring in Eric Dier on loan from Tottenham Hotspur midway through the 2023/24 season as well.
Although Tuchel seemingly preferred other defenders, the German parted ways with the club in May. Bayern then opted to bring in Vincent Kompany as their next head coach. As a result, many involved in the situation believed De Ligt would retain his place back in the usual starting XI for most Bundesliga matches. 70,000 Bayern fans signed a petition asking the club to keep him.
This, however, has not happened and De Ligt is now a Manchester United player. Nevertheless, there are new claims that Kompany was not responsible for selling the Dutch star. The new coach was preparing to rely heavily on De Ligt for the 2024/25 campaign.
According to The Athletic, De Ligt met personally with Kompany earlier this summer to ask why he was up for sale. The player’s camp claims that the defender was told directly by the coach that the decision was not up to him. Instead, Bayern’s upper management was making the call.
On top of this, Kompany allegedly told De Ligt that he was his “number one defender” looking ahead. The news outlet has since contacted a Bayern official to ask about the claims. The source at the club denied that Kompany made these specific statements.
Time will tell which club will benefit the most from the big transfer. However, playing for United seems to be the best-case scenario for De Ligt’s career to get back on track. The defender previously played for Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag during their days at Ajax. It was at the Dutch club where the defender made a name for himself as a top prospect.
Months before his move to Manchester, De Ligt acknowledged how much of an impact Ten Hag made on his early life as a player. “(Ten Hag was) the most important coach for my development,” De Ligt said back in February. “Even at 18, he saw me as someone who could lead a team, who could lead by example, who could be a good captain.”
De Ligt made his official debut with United last Friday as a late substitute. The Dutchman, however, is expected to feature heavily alongside Lisandro Martinez throughout the 2024/25 season. United next faces Brighton on Saturday, August 24th.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
