Matthijs de Ligt back on Man Utd’s radar and his Cristiano Ronaldo comments bode well

Matthijs de Ligt: Pundit discusses possibility of Man Utd move

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Manchester United are rumoured to be back in for Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt. The Netherlands international was on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s radar three years ago, only to end up leaving Ajax for Serie A instead. However, a move to Old Trafford can’t be ruled out – and his previous comments about Cristiano Ronaldo certainly bode well.

Manchester United are open to signing a new centre-back this summer, with the likes of Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones all facing uncertain futures at Old Trafford.

And, according to Corriere dello Sport, the Red Devils are one of the teams monitoring his situation in Turin.

Juventus have been hoping to tie the centre-back down to a new contract in order to avoid losing him for nothing in the summer transfer window of 2024.

But they’re apparently ‘trembling’ amid fears he won’t renew.

United, as well as Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, are keeping tabs on De Ligt.

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And given the Red Devils are now managed by his old boss Erik ten Hag, that means a move to Old Trafford could be on the cards.

Therefore, Ronaldo could hold the key when it comes to United’s chances of getting the Netherlands international through the door.

The duo previously played together for two years at Juventus, helping them win one Serie A title during that time.

And De Ligt made it clear how much he rated Ronaldo when asked about the United star back in March.

He touched on the arrival of Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina.

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And he appeared to hint Juventus made a mistake by cutting Ronaldo loose because they lost ’30 goals a season’.

He said at the time: “We lost Cristiano Ronaldo late in the summer and of course, we lost 30 goals with that.

“Because it was so late, we couldn’t get someone like Dusan Vlahovic back right away.

“We certainly missed that in the beginning.”

Ronaldo did well enough at Juventus but, ultimately, failed to propel the Old Lady to Champions League glory.

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Yet he remains an icon of the game and was in fine form for United last season, despite their issues under both Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ronaldo had been expected to leave Juventus for Manchester City when it first became apparent he’d be leaving Turin behind.

But he returned to United instead and scored 24 goals across all competitions.

That was more than double the next-placed Bruno Fernandes.

And Ronaldo also scored more than Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial combined.

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Some have pondered whether the 37-year-old will be sold by United as they prepare for the start of the Ten Hag era.

But he implied he’d be staying when asked about his new manager last month, with Ronaldo saying: “I know that he has done a fantastic job at Ajax, and that he is an experienced coach, but we have to give him time.

“Things must change the way he wants. If you do well, all of Manchester United will succeed, so I wish you all the best.

“We are all happy and excited [with the arrival], not only as players, but as fans as well.

“We have to believe that next year we can win titles.”

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