Mino Raiola on De Ligt: 'Always wanted Juve'
- Anthony Privetera
“The most important thing is that Matthijs is happy. He could have gone to Juve a year earlier, Ajax had asked him to stay when some agreements had already been made. But because of the transfer of De Jong to Barcelona, who left for a large amount, Ajax wanted more than was suddenly agreed. "
On his attitude and approach to his clients and football -
"Sometimes I am tough, but I never promised anything that I haven't accomplished. I have absolutely nothing against Overmars or Van Der Sai, but I think: at this level you must be able to do business on the phone too. I am ready to die to give what I promised to my players. This is how I work with many of the best European clubs. "
There were talks that Barcelona and PSG were in line to sign De Ligt last season, with the Dutchman ultimately choosing to play with Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus. Mino Raiola went on to say that it was De Ligt's first choice to move to Turin, and despite being flattered by the interest of many other clubs, there was only ever one club in mind for the former Ajax man:
"In the end De Ligt returned to his first choice, Juventus. He was surprised by the interest of Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and other clubs. But at Juve De Ligt he works with the best defenders to become the best. He's not interested in money, he just wants to play football. "
Raiola then went on to talk more about Barcelona, linking it to the dutch roots -
"According to many Dutch people, Barcelona is not a foreign club, but really Dutch. So Matthijs should have gone there by force, but it was not so and it was almost a sort of sacrilege. He is Dutch like Frenkie (de Jong, ndc ) and he comes from Ajax, so ... The reasons they gave us to try and catch Matthijs were wrong. He's not just a footballer. And you think Gerard Piqué, a very influential character, has given up and pushed himself aside?".
Finally, Mino commented on his clients devotion to his current club, setting straight the morals and motives behind the growing career of De Ligt:
" He's not interested in money, he just wants to play football. I talk a lot with Nedved, he's like a son to me. Pavel says, 'This guy is even crazier than I was. It's from the Golden Ball '”.