Dutch central defender Matthijs de Ligt, one of the most coveted young players in world football, signed on Thursday for Juventus from Ajax for a fee of €75 million plus add ons.
The 19-year-old agreed a five-year contract. Juventus said in a statement the fee would be paid over five financial years, with “additional costs” of €10.5 million.
The combined fee makes De Ligt the world’s most expensive defender, surpassing the €84 million Liverpool paid to sign his the Netherlands teammate Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton in 2018.
De Ligt is Juventus’ third most expensive signing after the €105 million it paid to buy Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2018 and the €90 million transfer of Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli in 2016. De Ligt has played 17 times for the Netherlands, forming a formidable central defensive partnership with Van Dijk. He took over the captain’s armband at Ajax in March 2018, making him the club’s youngest ever skipper.
De Ligt said Ronaldo had urged him to join Juventus after the two faced each other for their countries in the Nations League final in June won by Portugal.
