Why We Sold Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United

There was never any question about the talent of Manchester United’s new man.

But, as has been the case at Old Trafford this summer, another of Europe’s bonafide A-list institutions had to make some tough decisions. Not to mention some high-profile sales.

While Manchester United let Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane and Willy Kambwala go – Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay could yet follow – Bayern Munich also found themselves in a situation in which new signings were dependant upon departures.

“(Directors) Max Eberl and Christoph Freund know full well that no one will come if one or two prominent players do not leave,” Bayern legend and board member Uli Hoeness told Sky Germany a fortnight ago.

“We must first sell.”

This led to Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui joined Manchester United for a combined fee in the region of £50 million.

The former joins for an initial £38 million – reuniting with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag – while the latter makes the switch for a bargain £13 million.