Matthijs de Ligt facts for kids
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De Ligt with Bayern Munich in 2022
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 August 1999 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Leiderdorp, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Manchester United | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Abcoude | ||||||||||||||||
| –2016 | Ajax | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Jong Ajax | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Ajax | 77 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Juventus | 87 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Bayern Munich | 53 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Manchester United | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Netherlands U15 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Netherlands U16 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Netherlands U17 | 14 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Netherlands U19 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017– | Netherlands | 49 | (2) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Matthijs de Ligt (born 12 August 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer. He plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United and the Netherlands national team. He is known for being strong, a good leader, and great at tackling.
De Ligt started playing for Ajax's main team in September 2016. He scored a goal in his first game, becoming the club's second-youngest goalscorer ever. In 2017, he was the youngest player (at 17 years old) to play in a big European final, the Europa League final. In 2018, he won the Golden Boy award, given to the best young footballer in Europe. He was the first defender to win it. The next year, he helped Ajax win two trophies and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
After his success at Ajax, De Ligt moved to Serie A club Juventus in 2019. He also won the Kopa Trophy as the world's best under-21 player that year. He helped Juventus win the league title in his first season and the Italian Cup in his second. In 2022, he joined Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and won another league title in his first season there.
De Ligt first played for the Netherlands national team in 2017 when he was 17. This made him the youngest player to start for the national team since 1931. He has played for his country in major tournaments like UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Ajax
Matthijs de Ligt joined the Ajax youth academy when he was nine years old. He came from his local club in Abcoude, near Amsterdam. At first, some coaches thought he was too slow. But he worked hard and showed his talent.
Playing for Jong Ajax
De Ligt first played for Jong Ajax on 8 August 2014. This was in a game against Emmen in the Eerste Divisie. He played the whole game. During that season, De Ligt played 17 matches for Jong Ajax.
On 21 September 2016, De Ligt made his debut for Ajax's main team. It was a cup game against Willem II. He scored a goal from a corner kick after 25 minutes. This made him the second-youngest goalscorer for the club, after Clarence Seedorf. Ajax won the game 5–0. Soon after, Ajax announced that De Ligt was officially part of the senior squad.
De Ligt quickly became a regular player in the first team. He played in 11 league matches and nine Europa League games. On 24 May 2017, he became the youngest player ever to play in a major European final. He was 17 years and 285 days old when he started against Manchester United in the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final.
Becoming Ajax Captain
In August 2017, after another player left, De Ligt became a regular starter. In March 2018, he was named the youngest captain of Ajax. This happened after the club captain got injured.
De Ligt played in 37 matches that season and scored three goals. He started almost every league game. Because of his great performances, many big clubs in Europe became interested in him.
On 17 December 2018, De Ligt won the Golden Boy award. He was the first defender to ever win this award. On 13 February 2019, he became the youngest captain in a Champions League knockout game. He was 19 years and 186 days old, playing against Real Madrid. On 27 February 2019, he played his 100th official game for Ajax. This made him the youngest Ajax player to reach this milestone.
On 16 April 2019, De Ligt scored the winning goal in the Champions League quarter-final against Juventus. This goal sent Ajax to the semi-finals for the first time in many years. He also became the youngest Dutch player to score in the knockout stages since 1996.
Moving to Juventus
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On 18 July 2019, De Ligt joined Serie A champions Juventus. He signed a five-year contract. He made his first official appearance for Juventus on 31 August in a 4–3 home win against Napoli. On 3 November, he scored his first goal for the club. It was in a 1–0 away win against their rivals Torino.
Playing for Bayern Munich
On 19 July 2022, De Ligt signed a five-year contract with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. On 21 August, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a big 7–0 away win against Bochum.
On 8 March 2023, during a Champions League game, he made an amazing save right on the goal line. This helped Bayern win and move on to the next round. On 8 April, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Freiburg. This goal was voted Bayern's goal of the month. He was also named player of the month in both March and April.
In the 2023–24 season, De Ligt had some knee injuries. But later in the season, he formed a strong partnership with another defender, Eric Dier. This helped the club do well in the Champions League.
Joining Manchester United
In the summer of 2024, many top European clubs wanted to sign De Ligt. Manchester United was especially interested. On 9 July 2024, it was reported that De Ligt had agreed to join Manchester United. On 13 August, Manchester United officially announced his transfer. He signed a five-year contract. On 16 August, he made his debut for the club as a substitute in a 1–0 win against Fulham. On 14 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win against Southampton.
International Career
De Ligt played for the Netherlands at different youth levels. He played for the under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 teams.
On 25 March 2017, De Ligt made his debut for the senior Netherlands national team. He was only 17 years old. This made him the youngest player to start for the national team since 1931. He played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
During the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, De Ligt played in all four matches. On 24 March 2019, he scored his first goal for the Netherlands during UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
In May 2019, De Ligt was part of the Netherlands squad for the first Nations League Finals. On 5 June 2019, he scored a header in a 3–1 win against England in the semi-final. Four days later, he played in the final, where the Netherlands lost 1–0 to Portugal.
De Ligt was also in the Netherlands squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He played his first game in the tournament against Austria on 17 June 2021. He was sent off in a game against the Czech Republic on 27 June.
On 14 June 2022, De Ligt was captain of the Netherlands for the first time. They won 3–2 against Wales in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.
In November 2022, he was chosen for the Dutch squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He started the first match against Senegal. He also came on as a substitute in a 3–1 win against the United States.
De Ligt was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 2024. However, he did not play in any matches during the tournament.
How He Plays Football
Matthijs de Ligt is seen as one of the most promising young players in the world. He won the 2018 Golden Boy award, which shows how talented he is.
When he was younger, De Ligt played as an attacking-midfielder. Now, he is a strong and skilled centre-back. He is known for his clean tackles, being able to predict plays, and his accurate passes. His height helps him be a threat when the ball is in the air, like during corner kicks. He is also very strong, so it's hard for other players to push him off the ball.
Experts have compared his playing style to famous defenders like Gerard Piqué and Ronald Koeman. They say he is calm with the ball and can help start attacks from the back.
A profile from UEFA.com in 2019 described De Ligt as a "natural leader." It said he is a strong central defender who is good in the air and can pass the ball well. He is confident with the ball and can read the game smartly. His leadership skills are also very impressive.
Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher praised De Ligt's physical strength and leadership. He said De Ligt plays "like he's 24 or 25," meaning he is very mature for his age. Another former Dutch defender, Jaap Stam, said De Ligt is calm with the ball, aggressive, and understands the game well.
When De Ligt joined Juventus, their former manager Marcello Lippi said he had never seen a defender like him at such a young age. He compared him to many great defenders.
Even though he is very talented, De Ligt has sometimes been criticized for making small mistakes. However, his teammates believe he will overcome these as he gets more experience.
Personal Life
On 7 June 2024, De Ligt married his long-time girlfriend, Annekee Molenaar. She is a Dutch model and the daughter of Keje Molenaar, who was also a footballer.
Honours and Awards
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2018–19
- KNVB Cup: 2018–19
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2016–17
Juventus
- Serie A: 2019–20
- Coppa Italia: 2020–21
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2020
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2022–23
- DFL-Supercup: 2022
Netherlands
- UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2019
Individual Awards
- ABN AMRO Future Cup Best Player: 2015
- Copa Amsterdam Best Player: 2015
- Ajax Talent of the Future (Sjaak Swart Award): 2016
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016
- Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 2018
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2016–17
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2018–19
- Eredivisie Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19
- Johan Cruyff Trophy: 2017–18
- Dutch Footballer of the Year: 2018–19
- Golden Boy: 2018
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2019
- IFFHS Men's World Team: 2019
- Kopa Trophy: 2019
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2019
- Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: April 2023
- Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23
- VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23
- Bundesliga Goal of the Season: 2022–23
