Matthijs de Ligt Man United transfer 'facts' emerge as Ruben Amorim told brutal reality

Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl has opened up on the club's decision to sell Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United in the summer.

The Dutch centre-back arrived at Old Trafford in August in a €45m (£38.4m) deal with a potential further €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons. De Ligt signed a five-year deal and has made 16 appearances so far across all competitions for the Reds.

The 25-year-old has had a mixed start to life at M16 but started United's draw at Ipswich in Ruben Amorim's first game in charge. The defender featured in a back three alongside Jonny Evans and Noussair Mazraoui.

De Ligt's summer sale angered thousands of Bayern fans who signed a petition against the transfer. The Netherlands international won a Bundesliga title and German Super Cup during his time in Bavaria.

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And Eberl has now looked back at the decision to sell De Ligt with the club opting to keep Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae instead.

"We had the idea that we wanted to defend very high and actively," he said via @iMiaSanMia on X. "With Minjae and Upa we have two players who, when they have confidence, are very good in duels and are simple football players.

"We had to make a decision. We did that and it worked. Matthijs de Ligt was also a top centre-back. We are hired and paid to make decisions that we believe in.

"Of course, people are always very close and emotional when it comes to football. But we have to decide based on facts and on ideas of how we want to play football."

Manchester United made history 25 years ago by becoming the