Matthijs de Ligt has revealed the story about his first Manchester United jersey and which two legendary players inspired his love for the football club.
The 2025/26 campaign is underway as Manchester United continue to get results.
After 11 months in charge, Ruben Amorim has yet to win back-to-back games in the Premier League. The Red Devils have a chance to do that when they take on Liverpool on Sunday.
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Matthijs de Ligt will be one of the first names on the teamsheet. Although United have performed poorly and the results aren’t good enough, De Ligt is one of a few players to receive praise for his performances in Amorim’s back-three system.
De Ligt is steadily becoming one of the leaders in the dressing room. The Netherlands international would be in contention for the captain’s armband if Bruno Fernandes were to leave the club.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty ImagesMatthijs de Ligt recalls first Man Utd jersey with Cristiano Ronaldo on the back
De Ligt was on United’s radar for a long time before he eventually moved his career to Old Trafford in 2024.
United began tracking De Ligt when he was the highly-rated teenage captain of Ajax, but he ultimately opted to sign for Juventus in July 2019.
The club made further attempts to sign De Ligt when he left Juventus, only for the defender to join Bayern Munich. They finally succeeded in 2024 when Erik ten Hag formed a brief reunion with the centre-back.
De Ligt has now revealed that he has been wearing United jerseys since he was 7-years-old. He recalls watching United play in Champions League finals (2008 & 2009) when Cristiano Ronaldo and Edwin van der Sar were key players.
Speaking about one of his first football shirts, De Ligt told The Telegraph: “It was the time that Cristiano became Cristiano. Everybody knew Cristiano at United.
“There was also [Edwin] Van der Sar at United at that time and they played Champions League finals. As a kid, naturally, you looked to the Champions League finals and there was United and Ronaldo. So I was always a big Ronaldo fan and a fan of United because of that.
“They tried to buy me before, but it was probably not the right moment, or there were other options that at that time suited me better. But in the end maybe destiny brought me here… it’s a dream for every player to play for United.”
De Ligt was left out of the recent Netherlands squad, but if results pick up with United, he could find himself back in Ronald Koeman’s plans for the 2026 World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo sets new record
Portugal have booked their place in the 2026 World Cup, with special thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 40-year-old scored in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Hungary earlier this week to secure their place at the top of Group F.
Ronaldo has scored 143 goals in 225 appearances for Portugal, but his recent goal saw the former United star break a new record.
The goal against Hungary was Ronaldo’s 41st in World Cup qualifying, which is more than any other player after surpassing Carlos Ruiz from Guatemala.