Matthijs de Ligt will not play for FC Barcelona, according to Cadena Ser. The Dutch defender, through his agent, Mino Raiola, has communicated his decision to turn down the Catalan club’s offer to join them this season.
The arrival of De Ligt is one of the deals Barça have had on the table over the last few months. The Ajax defender is highly rated by the club and negotiations started a while ago but, in contrast to Frenkie de Jong, they don’t look set to have the desired ending.
According to Ser, “Barça have almost given up on De Ligt because the only option they have to sign him now would be if the player performs a U-turn and accepts an offer he has already rejected.” And they add that “the player’s answer has been that if Raiola says no, he is in agreement with his agent.”
Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu had got involved with the operation but it doesn’t seem he was able to convince De Ligt to move to Camp Nou this summer.
If he’s not moving to Barça, De Ligt will have to decide between PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich, the clubs who are now the best positioned to sign him.