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De Ligt cannot join Barcelona until 2021: the reason

De Ligt cannot join Barcelona until 2021: the reason

Matthijs De Ligt is experiencing a difficult start to his career at Juventus after the Dutch starlet opted to join the Bianconeri over many interested clubs during the summer transfer market. One of these was also Barcelona, who wanted to team up Frenkie De Jong with the centre-back after their successful spell together at Ajax.

In the past couple of weeks, there were rumours circulating that the Blaugrana could make a move for the player once again. However, it is very likely that the Catalan club will have to wait at least until 2021 to make a move for the Dutch star.

The reason for this, as reported by the Daily Mail, is Italy's new tax law passed in 2019 guaranteed that only 50% of De Ligt's salary is taxed. But there is a catch: this benefit applies only in case the player spends at least 2 years in Italy, with a move abroad resulting in a penalty for the Bianconeri, who would have to pay all the pardoned taxes from the period up until the potential sale.

For this reason, 2021 will be the year in which Barcelona could make a serious attempt to bring the defender to the Nou Camp but before that it seems unlikely, as Juventus would like to avoid the above-mentioned problem.