We continue our top 100 players 21 and under with the World Class category. These players are grouped by talents who who are capable of one day challenging for the Ballon d’Or.
Name: Matthijs de Ligt
Club: Ajax
Age: 19
Position: Centre-back
Strengths: Leadership, passing, set-piece threat, strength, bravery
Weaknesses: Concentration, overconfidence
Style: A defensive prospect of rare aplomb has emerged at Johan Cruyff Arena. It is not hyperbole to state that De Ligt has every attribute you’d want from a top-line centre-back. This is a generational player, to match the startling rises previously enjoyed by England’s Rio Ferdinand and Spain’s Sergio Ramos. De Ligt exudes authority even as a teenager, is dominant in the air and – as expected from as a product of Jong Ajax – is an incisive passer off both feet. Impressively, as the youngest player to ever start a European final, 2016/17’s loss to Manchester United in the Europa League showpiece, his leadership skills were showcased throughout by guiding the older Davinson Sanchez. Risks are taken in the knowledge he can recover the situation, such as the miscommunication with right-back Denzel Dumfries in the first half of Germany’s 3-0 win against Netherlands in October. But the occasional error is more than made up for.
What’s been said about him:
Ajax CEO and Netherlands great Edwin van der Sar: “He is left and right-footed, has an extremely good cross pass, can head the ball, scores, and at 18 years of age is already a real leader at the back.”
Netherlands had coach Ronald Koeman: “De Ligt has an exceptional talent, he can defend better than me. At his age, it’s really special.”
Ex-Netherlands and Barcelona centre-back Frank de Boer: “With De Ligt, it is demonstrated that in the Netherlands there is still talent.”
Forecast for 2019: The chase is already on to snatch up De Ligt. With the fearsome Mino Raiola acting as an adviser to his agent, the final price will be exorbitant. There is a reason, however, that his list of suitors are not diminished. De Ligt already looks set to go down in history – and he’s only 19. Expect sporting director Marc Overmars’ declaration there is “zero percent” chance he’ll be sold in January to be seriously tested.
