Bayern Munich continues to be one of the animators of the transfer market in European football and this Tuesday announced the arrival of Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, 22, from Juventus in Turin.
After the signing of Senegalese striker Sadio Mané and the arrival of De Ligt, who has signed a contract for five seasons, until 2027, Bayern hopes to forget the departure of Polish Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona.
The amount of the operation has not been made public, but the German press reported that the transfer is around 70 million euros in fixed terms plus another 10 in variables, covered in part by the sale of Lewandowski to Barcelona (45+5).
This makes De Ligt the second most expensive signing in Bayern history, behind the 80 million he paid Atletico Madrid for French defender Lucas Hernandez in 2019.
If the arrival of De Ligt numerically compensates for the departure of Niklas Süle to Borussia Dortmund, the Dutchman is a luxury reinforcement for the German defense, since he has much more posterity than the German international.
At 22 years old, the central defender trained at Ajax quickly established himself as a pillar in the defense of Juventus, relegating an entire institution in Turin like Giorgio Chiellini to the bench.
In addition to De Ligt, Mané and Noussair Mazraoui, Bayern’s ‘mercato’ is completed so far with the signing of another of Ajax’s jewels, Ryan Gravenberch, who should reinforce the Bavarian midfield.
For these four players, Bayern has already spent, according to the German press, some 120 million euros, a significant amount or, above all, much higher than the investments of recent years, proof that the German giant wants to return to be a protagonist in the Champions League and away from the austere policy of recent seasons.
