Transfer News: €73 million superstar agrees to join Barcelona, Manchester United receive huge transfer boost in £87 million superstar chase and more, 18 April 2019

Barcelona closes deal for Ajax captain Matthijs De Ligt

Captaining one of the most exciting sides in Europe at the age of 19, Matthijs De Ligt is an absolute sensation at the moment. However, sadly for Ajax, the Dutchman is set to leave the club for greener pastures in the summer. If reports are to be believed, Barcelona have agreed a deal for Matthijs De Ligt.

De Ligt has no dearth of admirers across Europe and with several high-profile clubs lined up and willing to pay €80 million to secure his services, it is De Ligt's interest in making his dream move to Barcelona that proved to be the difference.

Barcelona have been on the hunt for a worthy successor to Pique whose age is likely to become a cause for concern over the next few seasons. De Ligt has been immense for Ajax in their sensational journey in the Champions League this season.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram