Matthijs De Ligt sticks the boot into struggling Juventus by claiming there is ‘less ambition’ to win the Champions League at his former club than at Bayern Munich… as he insists joining German giants was a step forward in ‘squad quality’
- Matthijs De Ligt made 117 appearances for Juventus across three seasons
- The Dutchman joined Bayern Munich in a £68m move in the summer window
- The 23-year-old insists joining German champions was a step forward for him
- De Ligt is on international duty ahead of Holland’s Nations League fixtures
Matthijs De Ligt has stuck the knife into former club Juventus by taking a swipe at what he claims is a lack of ambition to win the Champions League at the club.
The 23-year-old made 117 appearances for the Serie A giants in three seasons before sealing a £68million move to Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window.
His former club have struggled following his departure, winning just two of their seven Serie A matches this season to date and suffering a chastening 1-0 defeat by newcomers Monza at the weekend.
Matthijs De Light insists there is more ambition to win the Champions League at current club Bayern Munich than former employers Juventus
The Serie A giants have won just two of their seven league matches so far this season
And in an interview with Dutch outlet NOS, De Ligt insisted he had made a ‘step forward’ by joining the German giants and said there is greater ambition to win the ultimate prize in European football at the Allianz Arena than at the Allianz Stadium.
‘I think I made a step forward in terms of squad quality,’ he said.
‘Juventus is a great team with great players and I had a fantastic time there, but Bayern Munich has the ambition to win the Champions League and I felt like this ambition was less present at Juventus.
‘I had a great time, I really enjoyed it. But I felt it was time for a new challenge.’
Bayern Munich won the 2020 Champions League, while Juventus have not won it since 1996
Bayern Munich’s most recent Champions League success came during the behind-closed-doors final in 2020, when they beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 thanks to Kingsley Coman’s goal.
Juventus meanwhile have not tasted Champions League success since 1995-96 after beating Ajax in the final.
De Ligt – who signed a long-term contract with the German champions until 2027 – also revealed Bayern were interested in signing him when he was still with the Dutch champions in 2019, with the club opting for Frenchman Lucas Hernandez instead.
‘It didn’t happen then, I think Lucas Hernandez was bought that summer,’ he added. ‘I’ve always thought it was a very nice club.’
De Ligt revealed Bayern were interested in signing him in 2019 before moving for Lucas Hernandez (above)
Bayern however have also struggled this season, with their 1-0 defeat by Augsburg at the weekend extending their winless Bundesliga run to four games.
De Ligt is currently on international duty with Holland ahead of their Nations League matches against Poland and Belgium, which represent their final games before the World Cup.
The Dutch top Nations League Group 4 with 10 points from four games, while Senegal, Ecuador and hosts Qatar make up Group A in their World Cup group.
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