Mino Raiola, the agent of Matthijs de Ligt, has said the player chose Juventus over other clubs, because “for a defender it is important to come to Italy”. De Ligt landed in Turin on Tuesday evening and underwent a medical on Wednesday, ahead of completing a €75million move from Ajax.
The 19-year-old had been heavily tipped to join Barcelona for much of the season and follow fellow Ajax youngster Frenkie de Jong to Camp Nou. But Juve have won the race to sign De Ligt and Raiola believes playing in Serie A will offer De Ligt the best chance to improve as a player.
“Barcelona? You all wrote so much bullsh*t!” he told reporters in Turin when asked whether De Ligt was making the right choice in joining the Italian champions.
“It’s not a question of who wanted him most, but Juve are the best team for him. For a defender, it is important to come to Italy. If you are to become the greatest in the world, it is a necessary stage.
“He’s the number one among the youngsters. He’s like [Pavel] Nedved, maybe more than him, for his mentality and he’s like Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] for his ambition. He has it all.”

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