Matheis the Licht, who left Kim Min-jae’s side and moved to Manchester United, undermined the popularity of Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga.
Germany’s Bild said on the 9th (Korea time), “The Licht made fun of the Bundesliga by talking about his transfer to Manchester United in an interview before the UEFA Nations League match between the Netherlands and Bosnia-Herzegovina.”
According to the media, De Ligt said about his transfer in an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS on the 8th, “I’m happy to move to Manchester United. And because I’ve been watching. The Premier League has more viewers. The Bundesliga is less than this,” he said. He pointed out that the Bundesliga is less popular than the Premier League.
Bild immediately refuted Der Ligt’s disparaging remarks in the Bundesliga.
The media said, “In the stadium’s spectatorship, Munich is ahead of Manchester United. Munich has an average attendance of 75,000 per game in the 2023-2024 season. Manchester United has 735 million people. This is the analysis result of SPOBIS in the summer of 2024.”
“However, in terms of the number of TV viewers, the Premier League is ahead of the Bundesliga. The Premier League will receive around 3.7 billion euros (about 5.5094 trillion won) for TV broadcasting rights during the 2022-2023 season. The Bundesliga will receive 1.5 billion euros (about 2.2335 trillion won), which is lower than this,” he added.
Until just a month ago, De Licht was with Bayern Munich, a prestigious Bundesliga club. De Licht, who transferred from Juventus (Italy) in the summer of 2022, played 73 matches in Munich.
The Licht, whose position has been narrowed since the inauguration of Bang Sang Kompany this summer, chose to move. The destination was Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United, who coached him in the past.
Last month, Manchester United announced on the club’s official website that it had recruited Dutch national team member Der Ligt and Moroccan national team member Mazrawi from Munich.
There was a difference in the contract period between the two players. According to Manchester United, The Ligt signed a five-year contract until June 2029. There is an option to extend one year. On the other hand, he signed a contract with Mazrawi until June 2028 and has an option to extend it by one year.
The transfer fee was reported through experts in the transfer market and the media. “The Ligt bid 45 million euros (67.5 billion won) + 5 million euros (7.5 billion won) and Mazraoui bid 15 million euros (22.5 billion won) + 5 million euros,” said David Onstein, a reporter for The Athletic, a global sports media outlet.
“As soon as I heard that Manchester United wanted me, I was excited about the opportunity to take on a new challenge at a historic club,” said The Ligt. “I know what it takes to succeed at the highest level, and I am determined to continue that record at this particular club.”
“Ten Hach has shaped the early stages of my career, so he knows how to get the best out of me, and I’m looking forward to working with him again,” he continued.
There were also voices of dissatisfaction with the sale of The Ligt. According to Germany’s FCB Inside, “Kim Min-jae was critical of the sale of The Ligt. As Christian Polk, a senior reporter for The Bild in Germany, reported, Kim Min-jae, who was a direct competitor to The Ligt, was very critical of The Ligt. In Kim’s view, The Ligt gave stability to his center-back teammates,” adding that Kim Min-jae, who was The Ligt’s competitor, also did not understand the club’s decision.
However, Munich’s general manager Max Eberle said, “We don’t want to say anything bad about The Ligt. He played very stably,” but added, “We wanted to be left-footed. That’s why Hiroki Ito met our plan,” explaining why he had to sell The Ligt.
The Athletic said, “The Ligt met Coach Kompany and asked why he was listed for sale in the transfer market. According to The Ligt, Coach Kompany told The Ligt that he was not responsible for the decision on the transfer and that The Ligt was his “number one defender,” adding, “The player recognized that Munich wanted The Ligt to leave, playing games while talking about The Ligt’s prospects.”
The Licht also wanted to leave, but Munich wanted to sell the Licht as well. As Munich recruited many players, it had to secure profits by selling the Licht. Munich reportedly earned 45 million pounds (79 billion won) in transfer fees after sending The Licht to Manchester United.
The Ligt served as Kim Min-jae’s defensive partner until last season. The newly appointed head coach Bang Sang Kompany tried to take advantage of him, but the transfer was made due to Bodjin’s decision. His high weekly salary contributed to the transfer.
Had Kompany’s trust in Munich continued, The Ligt would have remained in the team enough to compete with more players, including Kim Min-jae, Upamecano, and new arrival Hiroki Ito and loan return Josip Stanisic.
However, from Vaudzin’s perspective, sales of the highly paid De Ligt were given priority. As revealed by Sky Sports German reporter Florian Flettenberg, De Ligt’s annual salary is reportedly 15 million euros, which is the highest in his team. 메이저사이트
Munich needed to reorganize its salary system by recruiting new players and moved toward eliminating high-paid players. As a result, The Licht and Nusair Mazraoui came to the market and Manchester United recruited the two players. Both players had ties with Turnhach and Ajax, which made it a possible choice.
In the end, The Ligt chose Manchester United and is trusted as the main center back. On the other hand, Munich has become difficult to use for a while as Hiroki Ito left due to a metatarsal injury. Kim Min-jae and Dayo Upamecano are likely to be overloaded at the beginning of the season again, as they did last season.
Kim Min-jae started with Dayo Upamecano in the first round of the Bundesliga against Wolfsburg in the 2024-25 season on the 25th, but he made a fatal mistake in the 10th minute of the second half and lost a point. Kim Min-jae, who played for 81 minutes, was replaced by Eric Dier to finish the game.
Yakub Kaminsky’s own goal and Gnabry’s comeback goal ended with Munich’s 3-2 victory, but Kim was not able to laugh. Without playing full time, he was replaced by Eric Dier in the 36th minute of the second half and was forced to the bench.
Fortunately, he played full time in the second round home game of Bundesliga against SC Freiburg in 2024-25 on the 2nd, leading to a scoreless victory. Munich also won 2-0 with consecutive goals from Harry Kane and Thomas Muller. It received a high rating, which is second in the defense, with a rating of 7.7 from the soccer statistics media Footmob.