Dutch international defender Matthijs de Ligt, who starred for Ajax in the Champions League last season, joined Italian champions Juventus on Thursday. Juventus have signed the player on a 5-year contract until 30 June, 2024.
Juventus paid £67.5m to rope in the 19-year-old, according to a BBC report. However, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were reportedly also interested in the teenage sensation but Juventus prevailed in the long battle for his signature.
Juventus also took to their Twitter account to share the news.
“Matthijs de Ligt officially signs for Juventus!” read the tweet.
💡 LIGTS 🔛 | Matthijs de Ligt officially signs for Juventus! ✍️⚪⚫
https://t.co/dWhtEdSULz #TURNDELIGTON #LiveAhead pic.twitter.com/1xrVIFqSBy
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 18, 2019
Meanwhile, Ajax also took to Twitter to say goodbye to their captain.
“Hello as a little boy, #GoldenBye as a captain,” wrote Ajax on Twitter.
Hello as a little boy, #GoldenBye as a captain.©️#ForTheFuture pic.twitter.com/SuMYHk0CfO
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) July 18, 2019
De Ligt helped Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals last season where they suffered a nail-biting defeat at the hands of Tottenham.
The youngster has netted eight goals in 77 league appearances, winning the Dutch domestic league and cup double last season as well as reaching Europa League final in 2017.
The centre-back will become the fifth player from the Netherlands to put on the Juventus jersey, following Ouasim Bouy, Eljero Elia, Edwin van der Sar, and of course, the iconic Edgar Davids.
(With inputs from IANS)