Report: Matthijs de Ligt still interested in a move to Bayern Munich

According to Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk on his personal blog, Ajax defender could still be interested in a move to Bayern Munich, even though Barcelona remain the favorites to sign the player. Bayern and Barca are the only two clubs that the Dutchman would consider moving to in the event of a transfer.

According to Falk, de Ligt would accept a move to Bayern because he likes the club, but Barcelona are in very advanced talks with the player. This lines up with previous reports we’ve received on the issue, where it appeared that the player had all but decided to go to Barcelona. However, Mino Raiola (the player’s agent, we all know him) is still looking for more lucrative deals for his client.

It’s conceivable that Bayern could land de Ligt if the club go above whatever wages Barcelona have offered the player. However, de Ligt would still come with a €75m+ asking price, making him almost as expensive as the club’s record transfer Lucas Hernandez.

It doesn’t seem like the bosses would sanction that kind of expenditure on de Ligt, when we already have Herandez and Benjamin Pavard coming in next season, and still need to spend on a pair of new wingers to replace Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. While the Bavarians have a mountain of money to spend — some sources speculate that it could be as much as €300m (gross), it’s very unlikely that 2/3rds of it would be spent on just center backs.

While it’s fun to speculate about signing an incredible talent like de Ligt, the Barcelona links are far too strong and come from very reliable sources. Having already landed de Jong, the Catalans have always been favorites to land his Dutch compatriot, and de Ligt’s passing interest in Bayern isn’t going to change that.

We suggest that all Bayern Munich fans forget about this transfer ever happening and move on.