In an interview with Dutch news outlet NRC last weekend, Mino Raiola was asked about a number of his clients, and – as he so often does – the agent maximised the opportunity to send the transfer rumour mill into overdrive. Simply by saying “Matthijs de Ligt is now ready for a new step - he thinks that too,” a wave of stories linking the star defender to top clubs across Europe quickly emerged.
Indeed, the gossip moved so quickly that it prompted a follow-up interview with NOS later that evening, Raiola directly addressing the speculation that Manchester United and Chelsea were leading the race to sign him from Juventus.
”We can all think of the clubs that Matthijs could go to,” he said per Metro Sport. “Then you don’t talk about Fortuna Dusseldorf with all due respect. In the summer we have to see if there are clubs on the market. That can be the Premier LeaguePINC, but also Barcelona, Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.”
It was then inevitable that Max Allegri would be asked about those interviews, with Monday’s pre-match press conference in Turin providing journalists with their first opportunity to get a response from the Juve boss. Clearly not in the mood for idle speculation, he did not disappoint.
“What do I have to say? Repeat the question? Or not answer?” Allegri snapped per Football Italia. “The next step for Matthijs is in the next game. He has to score a goal.” De Ligt did not manage to find the back of the net, but he did help the Bianconeri to keep a clean sheet as they ran out 2-0 winners to end the year on a positive note.
With Serie A now on it’s traditional winter break, the rumours will intensify and the top clubs will undoubtedly keep tabs on the situation. As supporters of any club who have a Raiola client can explain, this is standard fare for him, constantly stoking the flames and ensuring potential transfers for his players are talked about incessantly.
It has been the same throughout Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s career, while rarely does a week go by without a story linking Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland with their next move. Yet the current situation at Juventus made this one perhaps even more inevitable, the Old Lady’s decade of dominance ending last season as Inter won the league title.
Juve snagged a top four finish on the final day, and today sit outside the Champions League places, their prospects looking very different than they did when De Ligt first joined the club in 2019. Earlier that year he had helped Ajax knock the Bianconeri out of UEFA’s elite competition with a goal in the quarterfinals, and when his Netherlands side lost to Portugal in the Nation’s League Final, he was seen sharing a joke with Cristiano Ronaldo after the full time whistle.
"Ronaldo asked me to go to Juventus," De Ligt revealed in the mixed zone after that defeat per Marca. "I was surprised by his request, which is why I laughed.” But the seed was planted, and soon the deal would be complete, Ajax receiving a €75 million ($84.92m) fee as he signed a five-year contract.
Now into the third year of that deal, he has gone from a teenage star brimming with potential into being one of the best defenders in the world. Jose Mourinho once quipped that Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci "could give some Harvard University classes about how to be a central defender” and by now De Ligt has earned a PhD in stop-o-nomics.
Growing up at Ajax allowed him to be comfortable on the ball and made him an excellent passer, but moving to Serie A has taught him every intricacy of being a defender. He has the physical power to match the strongest opponents and the speed to keep up with the quickest, he times his challenges perfectly and his positioning truly is now second to none.
In short, he is a complete player, and one who is no longer a backup to the two Italy internationals, starting 14 of Juve’s 19 league games and five of their six Champions League outings so far this term.
Yet he is already playing for his third different manager in Turin and it is unclear what direction Juve are trying to take. They won the title under Allegri in 2018/19 yet parted ways with the Coach and appointed Maurizio Sarri to replace him, a choice made in order to bring a more modern, attacking approach to the team.
Sarri also delivered the Scudetto but his abrasive style never won over the veteran players in the dressing room and he too was sent packing. In his place came Andrea Pirlo, a man who had never coached a single game in his life but who delivered the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa, the earned a Champions League berth all while rebuilding the side around a core of young players like Federico Chiesa, Weston McKennie and Dejan Kulusevski.
There was clearly plenty of room to improve and a number of issues to address, although adding a midfielder like Manuel Locatelli would’ve certainly helped alleviate many of them. But rather than continuing that process and allowing Pirlo to mould the side according to his idea of football, Juve went back to Allegri and the style they didn’t want just two seasons ago.
Ronaldo looked at all of this and decided it was time for him to go, so where does all of that leave De Ligt? Remarkably, he is still only 22 years old, and Juventus should be looking at him as a cornerstone of their entire project, a pillar alongside Locatelli (23) and Chiesa (24) to prop up a new, successful cycle.
In all three cases, Juventus identified the most promising young players in their position, then went out and made deals to secure that talent. That not only shows great awareness and vision, but also a sustainable long-term strategy that should be at the centre of everything they do moving forward, no matter what soundbites Raiola gives to the media.
Of course, agents work for players, and it is yet to be known whether those recent interviews genuinely reflect what De Ligt actually wants. His current deal has a €150 million ($169.74m) buy out clause and doesn’t expire until June 2024, so Juve are not obliged to take any action, and it may be that these latest comments are merely public posturing designed to get an improved contract for the big defender.
We will find that out in due course, but Juventus should do all they can to keep him, because his departure would clearly weaken a side that already has enough problems to fix elsewhere.