Bayern explain De Ligt sale after ‘No.1 defender’ claim

Bayern Munich have sought to explain why they sold Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United following claims that head coach Vincent Kompany branded the Dutchman his leading defender.

De Ligt, along with clubmate Noussair Massraoui, was sold to Man Utd this summer for €45 million in a blockbuster deal that saw the Red Devils capture a centre-back well-known to manager Erik ten Hag.

READ MORE: Man Utd get green light for major transfer as Napoli change Osimhen stance

The Athletic, though, reported that head coach Kompany desperately wanted to keep De Ligt, who has an Expected Transfer Value (ETV) of €54.5m, and even branded him his first choice at centre-back.

Bayern have moved to deny these claims, with Kompany telling the media: “It would’ve been so stupid of me to say something like that. It wouldn’t fit with what we’ve planned for the entire squad. It makes no sense.”

READ MORE: What Man Utd can expect from Manuel Ugarte

Why Bayern sold De Ligt

FCB director of sport Max Eberl fully explained the rationale behind the sale of De Ligt by the Allianz Arena side, who finished only third in the Bundesliga last term.

“We have to make decisions where we feel we can have the greatest possible success,” he said. “We made decisions together with Vincent Kompany.

“Matthijs de Ligt delivered very consistent performances. We wanted an additional left-footer, which is why we brought in Hiroki Ito. That’s squad planning.

“Then we spend money, and you as a club have to earn money too.

“We spoke to the players very transparently and then made decisions and that’s how we got the squad we have now.”

De Ligt has been named on the Manchester United bench in each of the opening two matches of the season, with Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez acting as Ten Hag’s preferred pairing for the opening Premier League matches of the season against Fulham and Brighton.