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Matthijs de Ligt hits out at ‘too fat for Man Utd’ rumour after Juventus transfer
MATTHIJS DE LIGT has responded to claims that Manchester United refused to sign him because his father was too fat and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was worried that he’ll follow in his footsteps, after the defender moved to Juventus in the summer transfer window.
Juventus: Matthijs de Ligt reveals reason for joining Italian giants
Juventus confirmed the signing of Ajax starlet De Ligt from Ajax earlier this month.
The 19-year-old was bought for £67.5million, and signed a five-year deal with the Italian champions.
Former Ajax captain De Ligt had also been linked with a mega-money moves to Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
It was also claimed that United turned down the chance to buy De Ligt last year, over fears about his weight, although the club have denied the rumours, claiming they are 100 per cent untrue.
It was very annoying that so much was speculated
The club were reportedly worried that his father was overweight, and that the defender would follow a similar path, leading to claims he had been deemed "too fat for Man Utd".
“A lot has been said and written and it seemed that I made a decision overnight, but of course that wasn't the case,” De Ligt told Voetbal International.
“It was very annoying that so much was speculated. I tried to shut myself off, although with all those social media that is never entirely possible.
“I have been laughing at such messages for a long time, but it also makes you tired at some point.
“There was something every day. Suddenly even my father was too fat, which is why a club [United] would not want me.
“Then you think ‘Come on man…’. At some point it gets annoying.”
Dutch scout Marcel Brut, who was brought to United by Louis van Gaal, was impressed by the young Dutchman last summer.
But he was also worried that he would end up putting on a lot of weight as he got older.
If United had chosen to pursue De Ligt last year, he would’ve cost a fraction of the price, according to European football expert Julien Laurens.
Ajax had told the player’s agent, Mino Raiola, that they would have accepted a bid of £45m for the defender last summer.
“For him to leave Ajax [this summer] for anyone, it was going to €75m [£68m],” said Laurens.
“There was a time last summer where Ajax told Mino Raiola that maybe €50m [£45m] would be enough, but after the year he just had, €75m was enough.
“It does feel like this is a really good deal for Juventus, and it would have been a really good deal for a lot of teams in Europe.”