“He was my number one defender and I never wanted him to leave. I was heartbroken when he left and this is why he left. I couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t have joined Manchester United if not for tiis”-Vincent Kompany ‘made shocking admission’ to Matthijs de Ligt in private meeting before Man Utd transfer as he revealed the main reason he left.
Bayern Munich’s manager, Vincent Kompany, reportedly made a surprising remark to Matthijs de Ligt before the Dutch defender completed his transfer to Manchester United.
Manchester United’s defense was a significant issue last season, which prompted the club to bolster their options during the summer transfer window. Recently, United managed to secure the signing of Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich in a deal worth an initial £38.5 million.
De Ligt wasn’t the only player to make the switch; he was joined by his Bayern teammate Noussair Mazraoui, for whom United paid an initial fee of £12.8 million. Initially, Manchester United had focused their efforts on signing Everton’s young center-back, Jarrad Branthwaite, but when the opportunity to sign De Ligt arose, they shifted their attention to the Dutch defender.
De Ligt has a history with Manchester United’s current manager, Erik ten Hag, having played under him at Ajax, where he became the club’s youngest-ever captain at just 18 years old. While it was widely expected that De Ligt would stay at Bayern under the guidance of the newly appointed Kompany, whispers began to emerge over the summer that some of Bayern’s top brass questioned De Ligt’s suitability for playing out from the back.
Despite these doubts and the challenges De Ligt faced last season, including a knee injury and competition from January signing Eric Dier, Kompany reportedly wanted to keep the Dutchman at the club. When De Ligt met with Kompany to discuss his future, he felt that he was being pushed out, even though the manager was keen on retaining him.
According to *The Athletic*, De Ligt’s representatives claimed that during this meeting, Kompany assured De Ligt that the decision to sell him was not his own. Kompany allegedly referred to De Ligt as his “No. 1 defender.” The Dutch player’s camp believes that the decision to sell him came from Bayern’s upper management, rather than from Kompany himself.
However, a Bayern Munich spokesperson denied these claims when approached by *The Athletic*. Additionally, *SoccerWeb* has reached out to Bayern for further comments on the situation.
De Ligt made his debut for Manchester United by coming off the bench in their Premier League opener, helping secure a victory against Fulham.
