Revealed: Real Madrid tried to sign De Ligt
Karan Tejwani
- 13 Sept 2022 13:15 BST
- 3 min read
Matthijs de Ligt completed a move to Bayern Munich over the summer after a rather fruitless spell at Juventus where he struggled to hit the heights that were expected of him.
De Ligt joined Juventus in the summer of 2019 having made a huge name for himself at Ajax, where he broke through as a teenager before a starring role in their recent successes.
However, he never made the biggest impact at Juventus, despite the presence of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini around him, and was sold to Bayern Munich in the summer.
However, things could’ve been very different for him had he moved to another club that was interested in taking him on in 2019: Real Madrid, who were looking to rebuild their squad at the time.
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Things could've been different for De Ligt
According to Marca, Real Madrid were seriously considering the signing of De Ligt in 2019 and were willing to pay the €75 million fee demanded by Ajax at the time.
Real Madrid were looking to bolster their defensive options, having just come in on the back of an unsuccessful season where they failed to win any trophies and were knocked out in the early rounds of the Champions League.
De Ligt, meanwhile, was a rising star, having been Ajax captain and led the team to the domestic double as well as the Champions League semi-final, beating Real Madrid and Juventus on the way.
Perfect start to the @ChampionsLeague ! Our travelling support was amazing as always 🔴⚪️ #FCBayern #MiaSanMia #UCL pic.twitter.com/BiQmRXTfMG
— Matthijs de Ligt (@mdeligt_04) September 7, 2022
It made sense for Los Blancos to make a move for the Dutch defender, but they opted for Eder Militao instead, who himself had a strong season with Porto in Portugal.
The Brazilian defender was targeted on the recommendation of scout Juni Calafat, who had a strong eye for South American talent, and Real Madrid acted on that.
Militao has since had a successful stint, being an important part of their league and Champions League last season, while De Ligt is just starting off at Bayern Munich.
