Matthijs de Ligt reveals why he chose Juve over Barça | OneFootball

Matthijs de Ligt has revealed why he opted to sign for Juventus ahead of Barcelona in the summer.

The 20-year-old was heavily linked to a move to the Camp Nou before he completed his €85.5m move to the Serie A champions.

However, De Ligt signed a five-year deal to swap Amsterdam for Turin.

The centre-half has opened up on the motives behind that decision.

“I studied all the options and finally I came to the conclusion that at Juventus I could grow more as a player with a different style that would make me more complete,” De Ligt said to Dutch TV channel Ziggo Sports.

“It took a while to get used to it.

“There are many people who look at you and expect a lot from you.

“At Juve you have to have balance, be more careful about the defensive phase and that’s what I’m doing now.”

De Ligt was expected to follow his former-Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong to the Spanish capital.

De Jong signed for Barcelona for €75m but has yet to recapture the form he showed during Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals last season.

“I still talk a lot to Frenkie,” he added.

“It’s funny to see that two years ago we were playing at Jong Ajax and now I’m playing with Cristiano Ronaldo and Frenkie with Lionel Messi.

“That is quite strange!”