Complete analysis of the Raiola – de Ligt narrative

On Saturday morning, Juventus fans woke up to the catastrophic news that Matthijs de Ligt might leave Juventus next summer. The statement was made by the player’s infamous agent Mino Raiola. The news caused so many shock waves through the community because the player in question is considered the ‘Future of Bianconeri‘. Max Statman brings you all the details of this story.

The statement

Mino Raiola in conversation with tuttosport said “Matthijs de Ligt is one of the best centre-backs in Europe. He could leave Juventus at the end of the season. Transfer market sometimes works like this”.
He even added “Alessio Romagnoli could join Juventus as he’s out of contract in June – playing together with de Ligt is a possibility. But it’s not sure that Matthijs de Ligt will stay at Juventus”.

De Ligt’s contract

Matthijs’s contract with Juventus expires in June 30, 2024. Matthijs de Ligt has a release clause into his contract with Juventus around €150m. But it’s gonna be valid only starting from July 2022.

Reason behind the chaos

To be fair, there is only one reason why de Ligt could even think of leaving. And that is to secure a place in the national team. In the recent international break, de Ligt started only one match out of three for the dutch side. Holland coach Louis van Gaal was asked “Matthijs de Ligt was starting always, how did he react ?” To which he replied “Yes. But not with this coach. Stefan de Vrij is in better form, and he understands this”.
Moreover, de Ligt started on bench in Old Lady’s last game against Milan. Since the start of season, Matthijs has started 3 matches out of 5 for Juventus. He didn’t make it to the starting line up in the big matches against Napoli and Milan. For a player of Matthijs’s caliber, losing a starting spot in his club and consequently in the national team is a disaster. Which might force him to consider a move to another club that might gurantee him regular playing time.

De Ligt’s stance

As of today, Matthijs has never mentioned that he wants to leave Juventus. In an interview with ESPN previously de Ligt said – “I am very happy at Juve.I feel like a fish in water.” Matthijs has been very vocal about his love for the old lady. In a conversation with Sky Italia(via Football-Oranje), De Ligt said, “For me, it is an honour to play for Juventus and it will be an even greater honour to be captain. A dream. But that’s not important now”. Not just off the field but on the field as well, de Ligt has proved that he is part of Juventus. His exemplarily display in each game is the confirmation that he is enjoying his time at Juventus and growing. With de Ligt not conveying any desire of leaving to the management or media, there is a hope that we won’t lose him. But in football, things change very quickly. If he feels that he isn’t getting what he wants, Mino’s words might actually come true.

The authenticity of Raiola’s words

Mino Raiola is the most notorious Football agent in the world. He has been previously involved in many ‘off the pitch dramas‘. The most notable one being of Pogba and Man United. Mino Raiola made many uncanny statements about Pogba’s willingness to leave Man united. Even in his most recent interview, Mino suggested that Pogba could return to Juventus on a free transfer next summer while negotiations are taking place with Man united over a new contract for the frenchman. Therefore, creating fake transfer buzz has always been Mino’s favourite trick to get things done his way. The agent could be playing a bluff in de Ligt’s case in order to steer things in his client’s favour. With that being said, the rumors might actually lead Allegri to reassure de Ligt’s of his importance at the club and persistent role in the starting eleven. Moreover, Vice President Pavel Nedved’s cordial connections with Mino Raiola are going to be really significant for us if we want to keep de Ligt at the club.

To conclude

Many clubs are waiting to pounce at the opportunity of signing de Ligt if he decides to leave given he is the hottest property in the world o football. Very few players of the current Juventus squad possess the ‘Juve spirit‘ and Matthijs de Ligt is definitely one of them. Henceforth, losing the future captain would be a complete disaster for the club no matter how much money we might make from his sale. Players like de Ligt are what the club needs for an ambitious and stable project. As fans we could only hope that he doesn’t leave. However it is the duty of the management to ensure that Matthijs decides to stay. This entire Mino Raiola narrative is a nightmare that we pray doesn’t come true.