Matthijs de Ligt does not have an escape clause at Juventus that would be beneficial for Barcelona, Italian journalist Romeo Agresti assures in a Twitter message on Thursday. The Serie A connoisseur brings this out based on sources close to the Turin club. De Ligt will be at Juventus until mid-2024, although rumors have been circulating recently that he La Vecchia Signora before the end of his contract.
Agresti emphasizes that the stories in various Spanish media that Barcelona could take over De Ligt for 75 million euros in the next transfer window are not correct. The transfer rumors were fueled by agent Mino Raiola, who revealed that the Juventus centre-back is “ready for another step”. Agresti nevertheless rules out that the the Dutch international will change clubs in January.
‘Raiola arranged a favorable and special Barcelona clause for De Ligt’
On Wednesday it was revealed that there would indeed be a special Barcelona clause.
On Wednesday, very different sounds were heard regarding De Ligt’s contract situation at Juventus. The defender would have a clause in his contract specifically intended for a transfer to Barcelona, it was known Sport to report. When the 22-year-old defender was transferred to Juventus in 2019, Raiola included the option to leave for Catalonia for only 75 million euros. Raiola reportedly informed Barcelona of the clause in 2020, but the club decided to focus on another player at the time.
De Ligt came over from Ajax more than two years ago for an amount of 75 million euros, excluding 10.5 million in variables. Raiola and Juventus agreed a ‘normal’ transfer clause of 120 million euros in the contract of the stopper, the sports newspaper says. That amount will be increased by 20 million euros from 1 July 2022: from that moment De Ligt can be collected for 140 million euros.
According to Sport so one exception: Raiola managed to reduce the amount to a sum comparable to what his client came to Italy for, especially for a possible future transfer to Barcelona. Before his arrival to Turin, it seemed for a long time that De Ligt would move to Catalonia; such a clause would make it easier to rectify a wrong decision.
Barcelona are reportedly in doubt between the Dutchman and Andreas Christensen, who will run out of his contract with Chelsea on July 1. De Ligt must cost more, but is more highly regarded in Catalonia. Barcelona does, however, negotiate with the defender’s salary, which, excluding variables, already amounts to eight million euros. Raiola recently said at Studio Football that De Ligt is ‘ready to take a step next summer’. “And he thinks so too,” the agent added. Maurizio Arrivabene, the director of Juventus, indirectly sneered at De Ligt, announcing ‘that players have to do their job’. However, due to the club’s financial problems, La Vecchia Signora seems open to a departure of the center defender.