LOOK TO THE DUTCH FOR
MOST COSTLY DEFENDERS
When Juventus signed Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax in the summer of 2019, the Dutchman became the second-most expensive defender signing in history, just a bit less than Manchester United paid to sign Harry Maguire. Bayern have now signed the Dutch defender, making him once again one of the most expensive defenders. Bayern’s acquisition of De Ligt is the fifth most expensive defender signing of all time behind Maguire, De Ligt himself, Van Dijk and Bayern’s own Lucas Hernandez. This now means that Bayern Munich have the fourth and fifth most expensive defender signings of all time. Bayern signed Matthijs de Ligt for an initial 67-million Euros, whereas Juventus signed the Dutch international from Ajax for 85.5-million Euros in 2019. Although Dutch players are esteemed for their offensive talent, they have actually yielded several of the world’s costliest defenders, namely Henk Tijm, Dick Schneider, Ronald Koeman, Jaap Stam and Van Dijk.