- 5 hours ago
Man Utd will make De Ligt the most expensive defender in history
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 2 Jul 2024 12:51 BST
- 3 min read
Matthijs de Ligt will consolidate his place as the most expensive defender in history if he joins Manchester United this summer.
Man Utd are in talks to sign the Bayern Munich defender and the feeling is there is a good chance of the transfer going through.
Despite only being 24, De Ligt is already the most expensive defender in history in terms of combined transfer fees.
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He has moved for a combined transfer fee of €152.5 million during his career.
Juventus signed De Ligt from Ajax for €85.5m in 2019 before he moved to Bayern Munich from Turin for €67m in 2022.
If De Ligt moves this summer his combined transfer fees will approach or even surpass the €200m mark.
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Only four players in history have combined transfer fees of over €200m; Neymar, Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ousmane Dembele.
Highest combined transfer fees in history
| Player | Nationality | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Neymar | Brazil | €400m |
| Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | €343 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | €247m |
| Ousmane Dembele | France | €220m |
| Alvaro Morata | Spain | €189m |
Man Utd are in the market for at least one top centre-back in 2024 as a number of their current central defenders are leaving this summer.
Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans have departed on free transfers, while Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire’s futures are not secure.
United have been in talks to sign Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite for several weeks, although his high price tag has been a problem.
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag is a big fan of De Ligt having worked with him at Ajax.
During that time De Ligt emerged as arguably the most promising young centre back in Europe before signing for Juventus in the summer of 2019.
However, he never lived up to his potential at Juve, who sold him to Bayern Munich in 2022.
De Ligt signed a five-year contract in Bavaria that runs until 2027 but he has also struggled at times at Bayern.
This has led to him even being nicknamed the ‘Dutch Harry Maguire’ due to his occasional propensity for clumsy mistakes and a lack of speed when on the turn.
Bayern have been open to sell De Ligt as they are revolutionising their defence this summer after failing to win the Bundesliga in 2023-24.
