“For me, it is a disgrace” - Lothar Matthaus weighs in on Matthijs de Ligt transfer to Manchester United with stern warning to Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus has criticised the Bavarians' decision to sell Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United this summer. Matthaus did not mince words, stating that the sale of De Ligt, who had been a cornerstone of Bayern's defense, is "a disgrace".
Matthijs de Ligt joined Manchester United earlier this month along with former Bayern Munich teammate Noussair Mazraoui. During his time at Allianz Arena, the Dutch defender was a linchpin in the heart of Bayern’s defense before he reunited with former manager Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
After joining Bayern from Juventus in 2022, De Ligt made 73 appearances for the club, scoring five goals and providing two assists.
Ex-Bayern Munich player Lothar Matthaus is not happy about Bayern’s decision to let the 25-year-old leave the club. He stressed that the Bavarians' defense is still their weakest point and criticised their decision to sell a leader. He told Sky Germany (via GOAL):
"The defence is and remains Bayern's Achilles' heel. Matthijs de Ligt was sold, even though he was the most stable player over the last two years. He was the head of defence. Now Bayern are again looking for a successor to David Alaba. For me, it is a disgrace that this leader is missing. After all, we are talking about Bayern here."
He continued:
''All the centre-backs currently in the Bayern squad have to deal with themselves first. A leader has to be clear about himself, he has to be recognized by the team. Of course, the mistakes made by Min-jae Kim and Dayot Upamecano are also a topic of discussion in the dressing room. The club has big plans and now things are going back to where they left off last season."
Lothar Matthaus' criticism of Bayern’s decision to part ways with De Ligt came on the heels of the club’s narrow victory (3-2) against Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga season opener.
Rio Ferdinand says Erik ten Hag made a mistake in taking Harry Maguire out for Matthijs de Ligt in Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to Brighton
Manchester United suffered their first Premier League defeat of the 2024–25 campaign on Saturday, August 24, as they lost 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. New signing Matthijs de Ligt featured in the game as a substitute after replacing Harry Maguire in the 79th minute.
Rio Ferdinand, however, believes that Ten Hag's decision to sub Maguire off cost Manchester United the match as they conceded in stoppage time, courtesy of Joao Pedro’s header. The former Manchester United player opined that Maguire’s presence might have prevented Brighton’s stoppage-time goal. He told TNT Sports (via Football 355):
“‘I thought Harry Maguire grew into the game and played very well. I thought he was the best defender, or at least the best centre-back, for Man United today. I was a bit surprised when he was brought off actually. If he was still on the pitch maybe he would have been the one leading and vocalising for that second set piece. [Matthijs] De Ligt is in there and he looked comfortable when he came on. I wouldn’t say Maguire had a bad game, he was very solid for most parts of that game.”
“When centre-backs are taking off during the game and it’s not injury-related it does baffle you a bit. It didn’t happen in our era. At the end of the day, he’s got a lot of players he needs to keep happy."
Manchester United will host Liverpool in their next match at Old Trafford on Sunday (September 1).