Manchester United rule out move for Matthijs de Ligt | OneFootball

It looks like Manchester United will NOT be signing Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax this summer after all.

Various reports over the weekend suggested United had made a £70m bid for De Ligt and were willing to offer the 19-year-old a contract worth £350k-per-week.

But Sky Sports report on Sunday that the Old Trafford outfit have withdrawn their interest in the Dutch defender and he is now most likely to join his former Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona.

Speaking on Saturday, Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed the LaLiga giants are working on summer transfers but wouldn’t name any names.

“Every year new players come in. So far we have confirmed De Jong’s signing and now we will work on bringing in others and moving players on, as is normal every summer,” Bartomeu said.

“Now is not the moment to do anything. There are always new signings, but now is not the moment to talk about it.”

De Ligt is represented Mino Raiola and many have speculated that the Italian super-agent had used United’s supposed interest in his client as leverage in negotiations with Barcelona.

The centre-back wowed onlookers with his mature performances for Eredivisie champions Ajax in the Champions League this season and he has also been linked with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus and Bayern Munich.