Juventus have managed to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax – confirmed reports.
The centre-back caught everyone’s attention last season with his stellar performances with Ajax especially in the Champions League and as soon as the summer transfer window opened up almost every major European club was scrambling to sign him.
But in the end super-agent, Mino Raiola decided that Juventus would be the best place for the 19-year-old.
Matthijs de Ligt had arrived in Turin earlier this week in order to complete the formalities and on Thursday the club formally announced the signing of the youngster.
The official statement from the club read.
“Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that the agreement with Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV for the definitive acquisition of the registration rights of the player Matthijs de Ligt has been reached for a consideration of €75 million, payable in five financial years, and additional costs of € 10,5 million.”
“Juventus and the player have signed a 5-year contract of employment until 30 June 2024.”
And here’s the contract details for Matthijs de Ligt at Juventus:
- The defender has penned a five-year deal with the Turin based outfit.
2. Matthijs de Ligt will reportedly earn a net base salary of €7.5 million per season that could be pushed all the way up to €12 million net a year.
3. The humungous wage means the youngster is now the second-highest-paid player in the Serie A. Guess the first.
On the top, this might look an absolute steal for Juventus since they have managed to sign possibly one of the finest young defenders despite so many big clubs running after him.
But if you manage to look a bit deeper then Mino Raiola has played a masterstroke in the whole deal.
Juve fans might feel that Matthijs de Ligt will be a long-term servant at the club but the Turin outfit could lose him as early as 2022.
For starters, the release clause in the defender’s contract is just €150 million. In a day and age when clubs are including absurd release clauses into their player’s contracts, Juventus have chosen to keep the exit door open at just €150 million.
And some rumours claim that Mino Raiola is the mastermind behind it.
But Sky Sports though are reporting the clause will not be activated until 2022 which means in the worst-case scenario, Matthijs de Ligt will remain at Juventus for three more seasons and if a club is willing to trigger the meagre release clause after that, then the Bianconeri can do very little about it.
Right now €150 million holds no value in respect of a top-class player, so clearly, in 2022 this would be pocket change for someone like Matthijs de Ligt.
Also in three years time, De Ligt would be 22 – a prime age for someone of his calibre meaning, Mino Raiola can squeeze out even more money from the next interested party.
