De Ligt links to Chelsea, Barca and Madrid have left Juventus furious

Robin Bairner

• 20 Dec 2021 19:03 GMT
• 5 min read

Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt has been linked with a move to Chelsea in recent weeks, but the rumour has spilled off the back pages to leave Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri fuming.

De Ligt’s future at the Serie A side has been in lingering doubt for some time. This is because he commands a large wage and Juve are having to make cutbacks due to a difficult financial situation.

Chelsea, meanwhile, face a huge turnover in talent in the heart of their defence this summer. Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all out of contract, leaving just Trevoh Chalobah committed to the club in the long term.

Naturally, the Blues are being linked with the continent’s foremost defensive talent.

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Equally, though, De Ligt could move to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, as per Mino Raiola, the player’s agent.

Speaking to NOS, Raiola said: “I think we all know which clubs to mention for Matthijs de Ligt as a ‘next step’. We will see this summer.

“Premier League? It can be Barcelona too, or Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain…”

Allegri was asked about these comments on Monday and gave a pointed answer.

“What do I have to say? Repeat the question? Or not answer?” asked Allegri.

“The next step for Matthijs is in the next game. He has to score a goal.

“I haven’t heard what Raiola said. Matthijs is improving, he played really well in Bologna, he is 22 and has great quality, he can only improve as any other player, from Kulusevski to Chiesa and Rabiot.

“The growth must be our target, then we’ll see what happens in the market.”

Raiola’s history of club aggravation

Raiola, meanwhile, is an agent who has had run ins with clubs and coaches previously.

Recent comments on Erling Haaland’s future irritated Borussia Dortmund and also seemed to have a go at Manchester United, suggesting there were not a possible destination for the Norway international.

Meanwhile, around this time in 2020, he drew the ire of Man Utd when he hinted that Paul Pogba wanted to depart.

Legendary Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson had previously called the agent a “s**t bag”.

This incident with De Ligt and Juventus is just the latest in a long line of examples in which Raiola has frustrated a club.