Football Daily - In Focus with Matthijs de Ligt

Episode Date: January 25, 2025

Dion Dublin visits Old Trafford to chat with Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt.The 25-year-old talks about United’s season so far since Ruben Amorim took charge at the club, and where there is room for improvement.He opens up on the success of his career so far, having started out at Ajax, where he reached the Champions League semi-final in 2018 and then his big money moves to Juventus and Bayern Munch.

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come on in sir come on in have a seat Matthias thank you very much for your time

really appreciate it let's start I want to start I want to find out about you

I want to find out where you were brought up, I want to talk about your family. So let's start at the very beginning, where were you brought up? I was brought up in a small village in Holland, it's called Apkoude, really close to Amsterdam. And I was just playing football there with my friends and going to school.

Just everything in this small village. My world was really small, but at the same time really big for my feeling. And then when I was nine years old, I went to the Academy of Ajax. Nine years old? Yeah. And from then on, my whole day was basically football and school. So it was going to school, then afterwards going to football, to Ajax. And yeah, that was basically football in school so it was going to school then afterwards going to football to Ajax and yeah that was basically my childhood. Was it always football? Was it always

get outside play football every spare moment? The funny thing is that when you asked the teacher of my first class in the first school the first class I was like I think four or five years old if you ask if you asked her what did he like or what did he dislike and she would always say the only thing that he disliked and didn't do was playing football with the guys really I was not into football at all and then at some point I was I was I was playing field hockey and field hockey and football was on the same complex yeah yeah same pitch yeah same pitch yeah yeah and my friend my friend, after school I went to him, but he

would play football, I was playing field hockey. And then I felt like, nah, I want to be with him. And I went with my jeans to the other pitch and I played football with my jeans, shooting with the point of my shoe. At that at that time that moment my love for football started okay so it was your mate and you wanted to be in it what was your mate's name alec alec so alec was playing football you wanted to play with alec exactly you wanted to be closer when you started and then from then on from the age of nine being in uh the academy at ix i mean it's it's it's rich in history isn't it yeah the of Ajax. It's been going for so many years and it's produced so many amazing players.

When you look back on that, do you feel quite privileged to have been there? Yeah, definitely, definitely. Because I feel that, to be fair, the person that I am right now is for 50% from my parents. Yeah. Upbringing. Upbringing and 50% from my parents upbringing

and 50% from Ajax I think Ajax brought me besides the football qualities also the personal qualities I was quite shy when I was younger and yeah I was a shy boy until being captain of Ajax at 18

it doesn't make you developed if you would say that when I was 9 years old you would think like no way shy boy until being captain of Ike's at 18. It doesn't make, it doesn't. You developed. Yeah. If you would say that when I was nine years old, you would think like, no way. But in a certain way,

they, they, they really gave me certain personal qualities. And, and yeah, it was, I was, I was really privileged to be there. Brilliant.

Brothers, sisters? Yeah. Brother and sister. They're two years younger than me. Twins. Okay. So,

yeah, I still, I'm still a lot with them in touch and we try to speak as much as possible. Are they sporty? Yeah, they like football also, both. Now they are studying a little bit more, so they're not playing that much. Tennis they like. So, yeah, quite sporty.

You play a bit of tennis as well, don't you? I played it, yeah. But at some point, I was playing a lot of football and I didn't really have the time to play tennis. And I still like it. For example, now you have paddle. It's a little bit shorter. Oh, you play a bit of paddle?

Yeah. Okay. It's also nice. You know, I've never played one game of paddle yet. Really? Yeah, and so many people are playing around me. It's great for fitness, but it's just great for coordination. Yeah, but also it's a fun game.

I think it's a fun game. I haven't played it a lot, twice, three times maybe, but I like it a lot. So your time at Ajax then from the age of 9 to the age of 19 was it? And then you sort of developed as a player

what were the coaches saying about your game? Did they say you were have you always been a centre half? No actually I until I was 15 I was a midfielder Oh were you? number 8 number 6

yeah the physical side of the game that's why you like the physical side now the funny thing is I was actually I was quite good as a midfielder also spraying passes

spraying I like that my example I watched videos of Paul Scholes because he was he was my idol oh really? But at some point, I was already, when I was 15, I was like 183, I think.

Okay, okay. Also heavy. Yes. And they saw that, okay, he's in this age group right now, he's maybe one of the best midfielders. But for him to get to the first team, centre-back would be the ideal combination. So they basically put me in centre-back and also they saw I was developing really quick.

So they put me two age groups higher or three and I had to play against the big guys. So to develop also a little bit more football intelligence and stuff like that. So yeah, that was basically how I was brought up. So the Ajax program kind of developed you as a footballer and as a person. And then towards the end of that, when you get to 19, how does it come to an end and how do you end up moving?

Yeah, so basically when I was 19, I had my third year in the first team that I finished. And still really young, obviously, 19 years old. Normally, when I was making the goals for me when I was younger, I was always thinking, okay, I want to stay at 20. I want to become captain at Ajax at 23. That was my dream. Like this age and then after that making a step.

Gotcha. But everything went a step. Gotcha. But everything went a little bit faster. I became captain at 18. That's crazy. 18? Yeah. Wow. With Eric de Haak, the former coach.

Yeah. And, yeah, so everything went a little bit quicker. And I felt like that to make the next step, I had to go to a bigger league, more competition probably. So yeah, in that moment, you decide to leave your boyhood club, your parents' house, because I was still living with my parents. Was it tough to leave? Yeah, it was tough to leave. But at that time, I was a young kid with only dreams.

So you don't think about that, you just follow your dreams. And so in that way it wasn't difficult. And I suppose by that time as well, you've been responsible for the first team, you've been made captain, you're turning into a man, you like the leadership. And with a challenge like Juve, you're thinking, perfect. Yeah, I was thinking, obviously,

also because they had so many experienced players. But, yeah, to be fair, what you said was Captain Ajax. I felt the man. And then I came to Juve and I was like a kid. Really? I was like, you're seeing Buffon, Cristiano, Bonucci, Chiellini, Higuain, Matuidi, Khedira.

They won everything. And I came there like thinking that I was the man, but I was like really far off it. Because those guys have done everything, haven't they? Yeah. So it was also quite humbling for me and really, yeah. In the beginning it was quite tough. Also because of the fact that I am from nature I think a shy I always yeah yeah the first weeks I'm always a little bit looking like oh who can I trust who with who can I be you know

so the first weeks were quite difficult didn't speak the language also but after some two three months I felt really at home and really started to yeah develop I suppose finding your feet isn't it finding your feet a big club you go into the dressing room it happened to develop. I suppose it's finding your feet, isn't it? Finding your feet at a big club. You go into the dressing room. It happened to me when I came here. You look around and you're just seeing superstars and internationals everywhere. You have to tread carefully, find out where you fit. Yeah.

Your time at Juve, how long were you there for? Three years. Was it three years? Did it work out the way you wanted it to? And did you stay as long as you wanted or did you want to stay longer did you want to get away well

yeah it's always I find it difficult to answer that question because I ran there and I didn't know what to expect so when I look back now I had an amazing time the guys that I played with were absolutely legends what to expect so when I look back now I had an amazing time I had a play what I

say the guys that I played with were absolutely legends even at that time they were the legends I won the title in my first year I played when I was fit almost every game in the three seasons there but yeah you've you've became champion for nine years in a row so when they didn't become champion what happened in my second and third year, it felt like a disappointment. Okay, okay. So, but looking back now,

they haven't won a title since. So actually the first season was still a really big achievement. So I'm really happy because it made me more mature. And it's also an experience that I still feel really happy about because of not only the football, but also the life, like the way they see football, the way they live there.

It was such a culture shock for me. Yeah. And for me, that's also football. It's not only about football. It's also about experience, different things,'s not only about football it's also about experience different things different lives like yeah life around it

yeah it's everything is so different and yeah the fact that I can speak Italian now and that I yeah

you know how things work in other countries it's it's really valuable brilliant and they and they like a glass of wine as well don't they

yeah and they like a glass of wine I didn't drink them with them, but they do. They were allowed to. Yeah. They were allowed to. So three good years. Three good years.

It was a great experience for you. Changed you as a player, maybe? Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. But I think that also has to come with the fact that I became older. And what happened basically was in Ajax, I did everything on intuition, everything on just going. Yeah. Yeah. Nobody said to me what to do. I just did. Yeah., I did everything on intuition, everything on just going. Yeah, yeah.

Nobody said to me what to do. I just did. Yeah. And I did it quite well, I think. Otherwise, you went and signed a big amount of money. But then you go to a bigger league where it's not. For example, in Ajax, you play once in a while Champions League, a big game, and you're like really focused.

And then you play maybe a game against a lesser opponent, and you're like, you can're like and and then you play maybe a game against a lesser opponent and you're like you can play it on i wouldn't say less than 100 but you understand yeah you know the game better yeah you know the game better you maybe are three zero front in halftime and you're like okay second half i can do it easy but in italy it was every three days it was champs league game and that was something that I had to learn the difference in the league was big was a big step and that was quite difficult

for me and what also happens is that in Holland it's not about what you it's not about what you do wrong it's about what you do good and Italy is the other way around it's not about what you do good especially as a defender it's about what you do wrong so what happened basically is what you could is all the way around it's not about what you do good especially as a defender it's about what you do wrong so whatever basically is what you could do all the things good in the game but if in the last minute you

lose your duel and the striker scores yeah yeah you're getting killed that's a headline that's the headline okay and in Holland it's like yeah maybe he lost his duel but he was impressive in duels he won the ball you know like this kind of it's it's a different positive yeah yeah it's different it's a different mindset so this way i think i became a little bit more less let's say this way less creative maybe less creative more um business more business just about work work exactly absolutely. And then you go to another country, plus you have to learn another language, and you go to Bayern.

How did it come about? I mean, they're a huge football club, an institution. Yeah. How was that for you, going to that football club? Yeah, it was also a really nice experience. It was easier for me because Germany, the language is quite the same as Dutch. Not the same, but I could understand.

After three weeks, I could speak with the guys. So that was really helpful. And also for me, like what you said, like Bayern two years before or one year before won the Champions League, they were always in the semi-final. So for me, I loved Juve. I loved the club. Yeah. But I never really had the feeling that we...

I wanted to win the Champions League to get as far as possible. So I felt like Bayern was the next step in my development. Also a new country, new league. Maybe the culture is a little bit more the same as Ajax. Yeah. So I felt like maybe I could be myself a little bit more there. So yeah, that were basically the reasons to the weekend.

From expert analysis... They need to compete. That's your responsibility. So should we start questioning you as a manager then? To the biggest debates... He's a free agent at the end of the year. Clubs can contact him. Who knows what's arrived in the inbox?

The Premier League Review only on the Football Daily. Listen on BBC Sounds. The Football Daily. Listen on BBC Sounds. We've had some amazing experiences and some situations you've had to deal with, like going into big football clubs as a young boy. I mean, it feels like you should really be 50 years old because it feels like you've been around for so long. And Georgie Boateng, you played for the national side. He told me about you years ago, years ago. I think you must have been 15, 14 at Ajax at the time.

He was saying they've got a young boy. He told me about you years ago and then you went off the scene and then you came back. So I knew that you were around. And then United, when the phone rings for United, when you find out that Manchester United want you to play for them, how did you take the call? Who spoke to you about it?

Yeah, it was a conversation. Obviously, they told my agent that they were interested in me. And then obviously the manager, Erik Tanak, who was with me in Ajax, was also quite happy that United wanted me, but that I also was open for it and that Bayern was open for it. So yeah, that was basically the first conversation with the club and with Eric. And yeah, I felt soon that it would be another great experience for me in the best league in the world. Probably one of the biggest clubs in the world.

I think they fit really well in the clubs that have been already. Ajax, Juventus, Bayern, United. It's like the same bracket. It's like the top of the country historically. So yeah, for me, it fitted really well in what I feel that is important for my career. It feels like there's a bit of all the clubs you've played for here at United, you know, that seriousness

and you might get told off for a mistake, but you also get praise for your good stuff. So you came from Bayern with Maserati as well. Did that help you settle down a little bit? Yeah. Obviously, I know Maserati already. I know Joshua Xerxe,

Farel Malasia I knew before, Andre Onana I knew before. Oh, so there's lots. It was basically, to make the move to Manchester was the easiest for me in a personal way, also to settle in, because I got basically a lot of guys that I knew already.

So yeah, obviously it made it easy that I came with Nus, but I knew already a lot of players before and yeah, that was quite easy. And the manager, he seems incredibly positive. He seems very sort of one-track minded. He knows what he wants to achieve. What's he like? What's he like on the training ground? Yeah, he's demanding.

He's tough. He demands the best from everybody in every second. So not only on the pitch, also off the pitch. I think that's really important as a group to have the discipline, to have the hunger to give everything in every moment. So yeah, obviously at the moment we know we have to do better and the manager knows that too, but I'm quite sure that we can develop as a team

and become more the team that he wants to see and hopefully then the results will come soon. Having to win, because you've been a captain so young, do you like the responsibility of, I suppose you're a senior now, you're 25 and you're a senior, do you like responsibility? Yeah, what I feel is that

the more responsibility I get, the better I perform. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. That's just how I feel, kind of yeah are you vocal are you a talker I wouldn't say I'm especially a talker I would say I'm more of I think that was the reason that the knock made me captain is because he saw a leader by example okay he saw someone that because

I was 18 years old I wasn't saying saying to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, for example, who was their top striker for 20 years, hey, do your job, you know what I mean? But what I did do was, I would never give up. I would give 100% every training.

I would be disciplined. And I think he saw something in me, what he was searching in a captain. So, yeah, that's, I think I think basically me to always give 100% to try to lead by example and yeah

How different is it coming into Manchester United as a young lad into a club of this size what's different about coming into this football club than others? Or is there any difference?

I think in every club that I've played, the pressure is really high. You played at the best of the world, that's all. But I have to be fair, I think in United it's the highest I've been. The pressure. Especially also because obviously United is still is and also historically probably the biggest club in england yeah but the way we perform this year is obviously

we know that it's it's not good enough so what happens then is that the pressure becomes bigger bigger bigger and bigger and you you feel it also more. It's a lot more negative than positive. And yeah, you can feel it as a player. The only thing that I'm happy about is that I didn't make the step from Ajax to here because then maybe it would be too much. Okay. So I had some experience also in Italy. I mean, the first three months, the pressure was really big.

Also me, because I was signed for 75 million. Wow, so young as well. Yeah, as young as well. And I couldn't make a mistake. That was basically, I couldn't be a kid, but I still was. So I learned by failure, but also by disappointment to kind of deal with the critics. And I think that helps me a lot in the situation that we are in this year.

So you mentioned the situation you're in. Things aren't going well. We all know that. It's all plain to see. Do you feel responsible? As in, because you're a bit of a leader, do you feel like you have to talk to each other, talk to the players and pass on information to those players as a bit of a leader now?

Yeah, I think, of course, you always feel responsible. I mean, if you're doing like we do in the league, I think every player should feel responsible. Because if you don't feel that... For the whole performance. Yeah, if you don't do that, For the whole performance. Yeah. If you don't, if you don't do that, yeah, then,

then you shouldn't be here, I think. Obviously, you, you try to, to, to, to help other players,

to, to, to give information. But I think the first thing, what is important is to, to, the thing that you can control is yourself.

That's, that's the first thing. Yeah. First control yourself, first control the that you can control is yourself that's the first thing yeah first control yourself feels control the things you can do and then yeah try to help others but at the same time the others also have to control themselves correct first because if you feel sometimes obviously we are in a bad mood in a bad face and we are focused too much about the other things like, oh, we are not good, we are horrible, we are, I don't know. But at the same time...

It's not going to help, is it? Yeah, it's not going to help. And at the same time, the only thing that will help is the work you put on the pitch and the work that you put outside the pitch. And this shouldn't change by the result. So if you're playing well, it shouldn't mean like, oh now I'm gonna train hard and if you lose games, it shouldn't mean like, okay today I'm tired. You always have to be consistent and I think that's something really important for us but we still have to get big

steps and hopefully we can get there. So as a collective then, as a collective group of Manchester United players, do you think there's just, is there one thing going wrong? Is it that you're not, is the midfield not creating enough of the forwards? Is it just an accumulative thing,

everything? Yeah, I think it's accumulative. It wouldn't make sense to blame one, the defence or the attack or the midfield or the goalkeeper. I think in the end, football is a team sport. And I think as a whole, as a team, as also with the staff together, we are all together in this.

And we obviously, we got critics from outside. The fans are not happy this year, what everybody completely understand. But we have to stick together as a team, as a group and try to get the best out of our team and that's what we are not doing at the moment so i think if there will be one solution or yeah everybody i think everybody knows the solution but everybody doesn't because otherwise it would have been solved already so we we just have to stick to the work we do. And football can change. I mean, like, I learned also the season we reached the semifinal with Ajax. Everything. We won the title in the cup.

We reached the semifinal with Ajax. Everything was amazing. But what people remember, what people forget is that the year before, we didn't qualify for Europe for the first time since 1960, was it? Wow. So, like, 58 years of of playing Europe we didn't qualify. So we were horrible. We didn't win the title. We lost against Eindhoven in their stadium and they become champion in this game. Okay that hurts.

That hurts. Fans were waiting on us outside the stadium they were saying we were horrible. So we had basically one of the worst seasons from the last 30 years. But the year after, we had the best season in 25 years. So football is a really strange sport and it can change out of nowhere. It's just, yeah, sometimes it's about finding the right formula. yeah apparently at the moment we are not there yet but I keep my

my hopes up that we will find it really soon judging if we go off that story next season we're going to win everything yeah but

let's keep it this season this season we have to do absolutely listen I really appreciate your time you spoke very openly

thanks for telling us about some of your past and your family life as well. But you've done great and we are delighted to have you here. So thank you. Thank you very much.