Club director clarifies his reasoning behind selling ‘fan-favourite’ to United, supporters won’t be pleased

It’s been over a week since Manchester United confirmed the joint arrivals of Bayern Munich duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. 

Both have since made their debuts for the club; the latter was named in the starting 11 for last Friday’s Premier League opener, while De Ligt came on in the closing stages in place of Harry Maguire. The pair are expected to feature against Brighton and Hove Albion this afternoon.

When rumours first suggested that De Ligt could depart the Allianz Arena this summer, the Bayern faithful were taken aback by the decision – so much so that a petition was made by fans in hopes of changing the hierarchy’s mind and keeping the Dutchman at the club.

Over 71,000 supporters signed, though their efforts were ultimately rendered in vain when the Bundesliga giants reached an agreement with United.

Read more: ‘He’s got the pedigree’ – Pundit believes United’s Barca/Real Madrid-type signing trumps Solanke and Neto deals

Why De Ligt’s exit was facilitated

Club director Max Eberl has now spoken out to clarify his decision after it was met with backlash in Munich.

“I understand that there are fan favourites, but we don’t make decisions based on fan favourites,” he said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.

“We made decisions with [Vincent] Kompany regarding defence. We wanted a left-footed defender – that’s why we signed Hiroko [Ito].”