Things have got a bit petty over in Germany after Matthijs de Ligt explained what attracted him to Manchester United
Matthijs de Ligt delivered an absolute verbal smackdown to German football (apparently)(Image credit: Alamy)
German outlet BILD have got all prissy about Matthijs de Ligt's entirely asinine comment comparing the size of English stadium crowds to their German counterparts.
The Dutchman made the move from Bayern Munich to Manchester United this summer in a £38m move, with Erik ten Hag turning to another trusted figure from his Ajax past in an effort to shore up his defence.
De Ligt was asked about his move while away on international duty with the Netherlands on Saturday, and his answer did not please the German tabloid.
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Bild get all petty over Manchester United's Matthijs de Ligt's 'explosive' dig
Matthijs de Ligt left Bayern to step into the spotlight, apparently (Image credit: Getty Images)
Not at all completely overstating the whole thing in the name of faux outrage, BILD describe De Light's comments as 'explosive'.
Those of a sensitive disposition should strap in for this... De Ligt said he is happy to have moved to Manchester United because: “I stay in the spotlight. The Premier League has more spectators, the Bundesliga less.”
Boom! Kablammo! One can only imagine that De Ligt then dropped his microphone and walked off the stage to the strains of DMX smash X Gon' Give It To Ya.
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De Ligt is actually the Dutch Maguire isn’t he? pic.twitter.com/2XlufsiIN4September 7, 2024
Pushing their spectacles up their nose, BILD sniff: “Interesting: in the stadium audience ranking, Bayern is ahead of the Red Devils. The German record champions recorded an average attendance of 75,000 per game in the 2023/24 season. Man United had around 73,500 per game. This was the result of a SPOBIS analysis from the summer of 2024.”
Timidly, they mutter something about the Premier League having by far the bigger global TV audience share, before declaring they can throw De Ligt's football boots over the building and that's the real quiz.
They cock a further snook at the defender by pointing out De Ligt was at fault for letting Edin Dzeko get free to score for Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Netherlands, embedding a tweet from an entirely impartial Liverpool fan-based social media account describing De Ligt as 'the Dutch Maguire' which, in fairness, is quite funny.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
