matthijs de light

Matthijs de Ligt is a widely renowned Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Juventus and the Netherlands national team. De Ligt made his professional debut in 2016 for the Ajax senior team, when he scored a corner goal just twenty-five minutes in to the game. He became the youngest player in history to play in a major European final in the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final.

In 2018, he was recognised for his talents and won the Golden Boy award. In the following year, Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Champions league with De Ligt’s help. Having played so well and caught the attention of his piers, he moved to Serie A team Juventus, leading the team to win the Kopa Trophy in 2019 and win the Serie A title.

At the young age of seventeen, De Ligt made his international debut for the Netherlands in 2017. This made him the youngest player to start for the national team since 1931.

In his debut, the Netherlands defeated Bulgaria in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. De Ligt is regarded by many as one of the most promising young footballers of the generation, highly regarded in European football by many. In 2019, UEFA.com described him as ‘a natural leader’ and hailed him as an ‘elegant two-footed central defender’.