Matthijs De Ligt has admitted that he looked up to Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo when growing up as a kid ahead of his much anticipated move to the Old Lady.
The 19-year old defender has been making headlines for the past few months after a scintillating season with Ajax in Netherlands.
De Ligt has become one of the most sought-after player in the market this summer after his excellent show in both domestic competitions and the Champions League. He helped his boyhood club lift their domestic double and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, before they were bundled out by Tottenham in dramatic fashion.
Clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United, Juventus, PSG have all been trailing the Dutch international. He shocked the world early this month after their UEFA Nations League final between Portugal and Netherlands when he admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo approached him and urged him to move to Turin.
June 9: Matthijs De Ligt said Cristiano Ronaldo asked him to join Juventus
June 22: According to various reliable sources, De ligt has decided to join Juventus, Rejecting Barcelona & PSG.pic.twitter.com/o1m6tTmRSn
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuve2017) June 22, 2019
Juventus then began an aggressive hunt for the 19-year-old. According to the latest report from Italy, the central defender could be heading to Turin. The Italian giants have reportedly agreed to pay €70 million for the 19-year-old Dutch international.
He has further furled the reports by admitting that he looked up to the Portugal superstar when growing up “Everything has gone real quick. Recently I had dinner with my football friends from when I was a kid, and we collected memories. One memory was that I always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo when we were playing football in the garden when still he played for Man United.
“We came to the conclusion that I always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo when we were playing football in the garden. That was especially in his time when he played at Manchester United.
“My first football shirt also belonged to him from that time. That dinner was just after the meetings with Juventus, in which I had to fight duels with the same Ronaldo.”
All eyes are waiting to see if the 19-year-old will eventually choose to join his boyhood football idol this summer.
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