Matthijs de Ligt explains he mainly joined Juventus to work with Maurizio Sarri, who ‘only lasted one year’ and did not feel he was suited to the tempo in Serie A.
The Ajax youth product had several options when moving on in 2019 and chose the Bianconeri in a deal worth €85.5m.
Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Gigi Buffon were all present at the time and he was only a teenager.
“When you go to a team with these legends, it becomes difficult for a young guy like me to express yourself. I learned a lot from these guys and tried every day to take as much from these players so I could become a better player,” De Ligt told ESPN.
There were also tactical issues, as the Dutch international assures he is better on the right side of central defence, but was pushed onto the left by Chiellini’s injury.
“It’s a completely different style of defending. At Ajax you press really high, you take risks, at Juventus it’s more about what is behind you.
“In Italy the pace of the League is also a little bit slower. They won four World Cups with this playing style, so I completely understand they feel this is the right way to do it.
“I came to Juventus with the idea of playing more attacking football, because Sarri was the coach and he had a really good name in the world of football, played amazing football with Napoli and Chelsea. I was expecting more of the Ajax style there, but unfortunately after one year he was immediately (sacked).”
Despite winning the Scudetto in his one season, Sarri was dismissed to make way for Andrea Pirlo.
De Ligt pushed for a transfer away this summer and, despite interest from Chelsea and others, he wanted Bayern Munich.