Matthijs de Ligt drives the knife into struggling Juventus claiming there is ‘less ambition’ to win the Champions League at his former club than Bayern Munich… as he insists that joining the German giants was a step in “team quality”
- Matthijs de Ligt made 117 appearances for Juventus in three seasons
- The Dutchman joined Bayern Munich in a £68m transfer in the summer window
- The 23-year-old insists joining the German champions was a step up for him
- De Ligt is on international duty ahead of the Netherlands Nations League matches
Matthijs de Ligt has thrust the knife in at former club Juventus as he takes a hit over 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 £68m move to Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window.
His former club have struggled after his departure, winning just two of their seven Serie A matches this season so far and suffering a 1-0 loss to newcomers Monza at the weekend.
Matthijs de Ligt 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 games so far this season
And in an interview with a Dutch outlet LITde Ligt insisted he had taken a ‘step forward’ by joining the German giants and said there was greater ambition to win European football’s ultimate prize at the Allianz Arena than at the Allianz Stadium.
“I think I took a step forward in terms of the quality of the squad,” he said.
“Juventus are a great team with great players and I had a fantastic time there, but Bayern Munich have the ambition to win the Champions League and I felt that 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 haven’t won it since 1996
Bayern Munich’s last success in the Champions League came in the behind-closed-doors final in 2020, when they beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 thanks to Kingsley Coman’s goal.
Juventus, meanwhile, haven’t tasted Champions League success since 1995-96 after beating Ajax in the final.
De Ligt – who is on a long-term contract with the German champions until 2027 – also revealed that Bayern were interested in signing him while he was still with the Dutch champions in 2019, the club having opted for Frenchman Lucas Hernandez instead.
“That didn’t happen then, I think Lucas Hernandez was bought that summer,” he added. “I 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 have also struggled this season, however, with their 1-0 loss to Augsburg at the weekend extending their Bundesliga winless streak to four games.
De Ligt is currently on international duty with the Netherlands ahead of their Nations League games against Poland and Belgium, which represent their last matches before the World Cup.
The Netherlands top Nations League Group 4 with 10 points from four matches, while hosts Senegal, Ecuador and Qatar make up Group A of their World Cup group.
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