Juventus central defender Matthijs de Ligt reportedly wants to leave the club after contract negotiations with the Bianconeri broke down in an explosive meeting.
The Dutchman, who joined Juventus in 2019 for 67 million pounds, has informed the Italian giants that he wishes to be sold, putting Chelsea and Manchester United on high alert. According to the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, de Ligt will not return to the negotiating table after the heated meeting with Juve officials.
The 22-year-old is under contract with Juventus until 2024, and the club wants to extend his contract until 2026. As per Corriere dello Sport, following the death of Mino Raiola, de Ligt and his camp, led by Rafaela Pimenta, were dissatisfied with Juve’s demand for a 98 million pounds release clause be inserted into the new contract.
The player reportedly believes that his release clause figure is too high, and rather sees that value in the region around 68 million. Wages were also a source of contention. De Ligt, who was recently photographed enjoying the off-season with girlfriend Annekee Molenaar, is currently the highest-paid player in the squad, earning a salary of 7 million with bonuses potentially reaching 10 million.
If he gets his wish to leave, he may be reunited with his former boss Erik ten Hag at United, as the duo have previously worked together at Ajax. De Ligt was also linked with a move to Old Trafford before moving to Italy three years ago.
The player has praised the ability of the new Red Devils gaffer recently.
“He has a lot of qualities (to succeed). We will have to see how he goes. He definitely improves players. He wants to do everything to make his team play better.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea are looking for defenders after losing Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona, and they could capitalise on De Ligt’s disastrous talks with Juventus by making a significant bid.
De Ligt has appeared in 117 games for Juventus, scoring eight goals. He has also earned 37 caps for the Netherlands and is expected to be named to Louis van Gaal’s World Cup squad in Qatar.
