Barcelona 'conceding defeat' to Man Utd over Matthijs De Ligt for ONE reason
Posted Thursday, May 30, 2019 by Dailystar.co.uk
Barcelona 'conceding defeat' to Man Utd over Matthijs De Ligt for ONE reason (Pic: GETTY)
BARCELONA are set to concede defeat to Manchester United over the transfer of Matthijs De Ligt for one key reason.
United are desperate to land a centre-back this summer and have made Ajax sensation De Ligt their top target.
It comes after a disastrous season where they finished sixth in the Premier League.
That means that they will be competing in the Europa League for the second time in three years and it follows an abysmal end to the term that saw the Red Devils win just twice in 12 games.
The Red Devils conceded 54 goals this season - more than any other Premier League year in their history - compared to just 28 last term.
And the Ajax captain has emerged as one of the world’s best defenders despite being just 19 after a stupendous year for the Dutch outfit.
Barcelona had emerged as the frontrunners for his signature after securing a deal for Ajax team-mate and De Ligt’s best friend Frenkie De Jong.
But negotiations have dithered after a failure to compromise over funds, allowing United to steal in.
Despite the Red Devils’ poor season, they still boast one of the biggest transfer budgets in the world.
And Fox Sport journalist Davide Mario Santoro has claimed that the Old Trafford have the Catalan club ready to concede defeat.
“Contract and image rights on the table from United for De Ligt is absolutely unbelievable,” he tweeted.
“The #5 branding they have on the table/wages/agent fee Barcelona could only dream of offering.
“I Can see why the Catalans are starting to concede defeat on this one.”
Barca could see some big-name departures this summer and may have to in order to compete with United.
Among them include Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, who were not signed for mammoth fees.
Nearly ï¿¡250m was spent on those two alone but neither have settled in as well as had been hoped.
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