Cristiano Ronaldo feelings clear on Matthijs de Ligt joining Man Utd after chat with him

Manchester United are nearing a deal for Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, who previously impressed club icon Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo was impressed by Matthijs de Ligt after his standout season with Ajax in 2019 (
Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo has already given his verdict on Matthijs de Ligt as Manchester United close in on a deal for the defender – and it’s fair to say he’s a fan.

United have agreed a £51.5million double transfer for Bayern Munich defenders De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, who were scheduled to undergo medicals on Monday. They will become the third and fourth new signings to join Erik ten Hag’s squad this summer alongside Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro.

De Ligt played under Ten Hag at Ajax, becoming the club’s youngest-ever captain as a teenager and leading the Dutch giants to the Eredivisie title and a Champions League semi-final. Following his stellar season as skipper, the centre-back opted to sign for Juventus.

However, before his move to Juve was confirmed, De Ligt was part of the Netherlands side that faced Portugal in the 2019 Nations League final. The centre-back’s performances captured Ronaldo’s attention and the former United hero sought to convince De Ligt to join him in Turin.

“After the final, I was already sure I wanted to join Juve,” De Ligt admitted, shortly after signing for the Italian club in 2019. “It was a big compliment to have Ronaldo ask me to join but it didn’t make the difference.”

Still only 25 years old, De Ligt has gained plenty of experience since breaking through at Ajax and opting to test himself in Italy. Upon joining Ronaldo at Juve, the defender demonstrated the type of mentality that United will hope De Ligt can bring to the team.

“Pressure is normal in football. For me, it’s not a problem. I’ll show what I’m capable of on the pitch,” De Ligt said at the time. “I’m 19, I can still improve and I want to do that. It’s important to work hard every day and to learn and I hope to become a better player.”

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag knows Matthijs de Ligt from their time at Ajax ( 
Image:
VI Images via Getty Images)
With his two-year stay at Bayern Munich nearing an end, the Netherlands international looks set to be reunited with Ten Hag at Old Trafford. The former Ajax starlet has spoken before about his desire to play in an attack-minded team, which offers some hope that United will improve on their eighth-place finish from last term.

Ten Hag has remained an admirer of the former Ajax skipper and confessed that he wanted to beat Bayern Munich to his signature during his first season as United boss. However, Ten Hag insisted that it was the club’s new recruitment chiefs who identified De Ligt as a target this summer.

Speaking about De Ligt last month, Ten Hag said: “I wanted to sign him two years ago but at that time, he was already very far along to join Bayern. Believe it or not, his name did not come from me in the process.”

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