A petition with almost 71,000 signatures is asking Bayern Munich supporters to oppose the club’s summer transfer of Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United.
The 24-year-old was one of United’s targets early in the transfer window, but Old Trafford officials were unable to come to an agreement with the Bundesliga powerhouse. Nonetheless, United and De Ligt have verbally agreed on personal terms.
Bayern Munich fans, however, are pleading with the team not to let go of De Ligt just a year after he arrived at the Allianz Arena from Juventus for £65.5 million. In fact, people are so furious over the prospect of selling the defender that, as of this writing, an online petition has just under 71,000 signatures.
The petition’s creator, DeLigt Lad, has provided an explanation of the movement’s motivation: “We all want Matthijs de Ligt to stay at FC Bayern Munich! The petition’s attachment states, “He has demonstrated that he is a top-tier defender and is likely the best in our team.
He was chosen as our top player for the 2022–2023 campaign for a reason. In addition, he only has a bright future ahead of him at the age of 24, which he plans to utilize to reach all of his enormous potential.
“Mattaha is a young player, but he already possesses a fantastic mindset and maturity, which will make him a leader in defense and likely a contender for captain in the future.
His fluency in Dutch, German, and English would be quite helpful for that. At just 19 years old, he led Ajax Amsterdam to the UCL semifinals.
“We would truly regret selling Matthijs de Ligt; it would be a terrible mistake. We thus use our voices to draw attention to the fact that we shall not repeat this error.”
In 2019, De Ligt played for Erik ten Hag’s Ajax team, who advanced to the Champions League semifinals. In the past, when De Ligt was still rising at Ajax, United had scouted him. The Old Trafford team made two bids for De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, but Bayern Munich turned them down, according to a story published on Friday by The Athletic.