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Bayern Munich have made an error by sanctioning the sale of Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United, according to German TV pundit and former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann.
De Ligt sealed his move on Tuesday alongside Noussair Mazraoui after waiting all summer for United to agree a fee with the Bavarians.
While Bayern seemed happy to do a deal with the Red Devils, one man at least in Germany thinks they have made a mistake.
FCB Inside relay Hamann’s comments on Sky in which he insisted “I wouldn’t have sold him.”
“He was not always able to match his performances at Ajax in Turin and Munich, but for me he was the most stable central defender at Bayern over the last six to eight months,” Hamann added.
The former Bayern midfielder praised the 25 year old’s leadership qualities and stated, “he is someone who speaks up and makes his players better. I don’t see that in the other central defenders. De Ligt would have been a given for me.”
People connected to the current United have naturally been much more optimistic on the move as when speaking to the BBC, his likely centre back partner Lisandro Martinez claimed, “I think Matthijs will give us a strong personality, playing from the back, defending high. I can’t wait to play with him.”
These comments contrast sharply about what is being said about De Ligt in the English media.
Former United midfielder Paul Scholes has claimed that “he’s obviously not been good enough at Bayern Munich, so he’s coming to us as like a second-rate defender now.”
What’s more, former defender Rio Ferdinand also queried the logic of the move.
He opined, “he’s had a lot of injuries, hasn’t started many games over the last two or three years and Man United are spending £45-50 million on him. Is he going to come into Man United and make a difference?”
Certainly Bayern fans didn’t agree with this assessment as in their thousands they signed a petition to keep the defender at the Allianz Arena, which he surprisingly referenced in his goodbye statement to the club.
United fans will certainly hope that the German media, who have watched the player more closely over the last few years, will be right on this particular transfer.
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