Bayern Munich chief defends Matthijs de Ligt transfer with concerning explanation for Man United

Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl has explained why the club decided to allow Matthis de Ligt to join Manchester United.

United signed De Ligt from the Bundesliga champions last month in a deal worth €45million (£38million) plus potentially a further €5million (£4.2million) in add-ins. De Ligt was not the only centre-back to be signed by the Reds in the summer transfer window, with Leny Yoro also arriving from Lille.

De Ligt made his full debut for United in the defeat to Liverpool earlier this month and scored his first goal as the Reds beat Southampton in the Premier League at the weekend. The Netherlands international opened the scoring for Erik ten Hag's side in the 3-0 victory at St Mary's.

The decision by Bayern to sell De Ligt was seemingly not popular among the German club's supporters. A petition was signed by several thousand Bayern fans on the change.org petition, something which Eberl has acknowledged.

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Eberl was asked about why Bayern decided to allow De Ligt to leave the club and join United. The Bundesliga outfit's sporting director also suggested that two other members of the squad, Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae, are more suited to their playing style than De Ligt.

"I followed it, including the petition. I know that many fans identify with him," Eberl told reporters in a press conference. "Nevertheless, I had to make this decision because we also had to sell players.

"We felt more comfortable with [Dayot] Upamecano and Kim [Min-jae] because they can defend higher up the pitch. And then an offer came in for De Ligt."

The petition created by Bayern fans urging the club to keep De Ligt acquired more than 70,000 signatures. The possibility of allowing De Ligt to leave the club was described as an "absolutely horrible decision".

"We all want Matthijs de Ligt to stay at Bayern Munich! He has proven that he‘s a world-class defender, probably the best in our squad," the message accompanied by the petition read. "There is a reason why he was elected as our best player in the 2022/23 season."

The message later added: "Selling Matthijs de Ligt would be an absolutely horrible decision and we would definitely regret it. That‘s why we use our voice to call attention that we will NOT make this mistake!"