Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus: Barcelona unwilling to meet agent Mino Raiola's demands

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Ben Hayward28 June 2019

Barcelona are set to miss out on one of their main summer transfer targets as Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt closes in on a €75million move to Juventus.

The Catalan club had identified De Ligt as one of their principal objectives for the current window, but the Blaugrana are unwilling to match Juve’s offer of around €12m per season.

De Ligt had been keen on a move to Camp Nou and a link-up with his Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong, who agreed a summer switch in January.

However, agent Mino Raiola started a bidding war for the Dutch defender and Juventus now look to have won the race for his signature.

The 19-year-old admitted after the Netherlands’ Uefa Nations League final loss to Portugal that Juve's Cristiano Ronaldo had told him to join the former Real Madrid forward in Turin and only loose ends now need to be tied up before that deal is completed.

AP Photo/Luis Vieira

De Ligt has asked for a release clause of €150m to be included in his contract at the Italian champions, allowing him to move on in future, and he believes he can sign for Barca later in his career.

In the meantime, Barcelona are concerned with their wage bill (€11.8m last year), which is already the highest in world football, while their interest in Neymar has brought about a shift in priorities this summer.

Mino Raiola
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There is belief that both Neymar and Antoine Griezmann could be brought in later on in the window by Barca, which means the Catalan club would have to sell a number of players to raise the necessary funds for the transfer fees and wages, and that may well have been the reason the Blaugrana did not make a final push for De Ligt.

Who should stay at Barcelona and who should go this summer?

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Failure to sign the Dutchman means Barca will not sell Samuel Umtiti this summer, although another centre-back could be brought in to provide back-up for Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and the France defender.

Former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen is out of contract and is expected to leave, while January signing Jean-Clair Todibo could be promoted to the position of fourth centre-back for the 2019-20 season.

Barca have also been linked with Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof, with a report in sports paper Mundo Deportivo claiming the Sweden centre-back could be an alternative to De Ligt.

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