It’s not exactly easy being a teenage sensation in a sport like football. That may sound utterly ridiculous given that they could probably retire after just a year of being on the kind of wages they are used to, but it’s the truth. When you’re put under such a high pressure position to succeed, and there are a lot of people relying on you, it can quickly become too much.
Sometimes that isn’t the case, though, and you wind up thriving under that aforementioned pressure. In the end all you can really hope for is that the success found by the player in question translates over to the next big club they sign for, which is what everyone is curious to see when it comes to Matthijs de Ligt.
The Ajax defender still has a great deal to learn in this game, but you can’t deny that he’s already playing at an incredibly high level.
Rumours here, there and everywhere
Now, as you can probably imagine, the constant rumour mill regarding his future has begun. Manchester Evening News has put forward a report that could indicate he’s on his way to Manchester United, whereas NewsNow’s section dedicated to de Ligt has about 12-15 unique pieces every single day. We can’t imagine the kid himself looks at these sorts of things all too often, but if he does, then we’d suggest that’s probably not the best idea.
Alongside United you’ve got Barcelona and Juventus as the primary contenders to land his signature, and to be perfectly honest, we’re really intrigued to see which direction he goes in here. There’s always the possibility of him staying at Ajax, but with Frenkie de Jong already having agreed to leave and a series of other top players being on the verge of doing so, we’d suggest it isn’t looking good for the Dutch giants.
In many ways he’s kind of in a lose-lose-lose situation regardless of who he chooses, and that’s a shame.
What will he decide?
If he goes to Barca then he’ll be accused of linking up with Lionel Messi in order to make life easier for himself. If he goes to Juventus then he’ll be accused of linking up with Cristiano Ronaldo in order to make life easier for himself. If he goes to Manchester United then he’ll be accused of following the money in order to make life easier for himself. Do you see where we’re going with this?
As a player he has so much potential it’s not even funny, but as a man, he already seems to be showcasing the kind of maturity and decision making that you need as a young defender. It’s never easy to play world class football on a consistent basis at this level, and it’s going to be even harder for him in a brand new system. However, if he makes the right move, then it could lead to an incredibly successful career for him that lasts up to two decades.
For now, we’ve just got to wait and see how things transpire.