New United signing was told by his manager he was No.1 in his position before club board facilitated his sale

Manchester United endured a drawn-out transfer saga with Bayern Munich before finally getting deals for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui over the line in time for their Premier League opener.

The two defenders featured for United against Fulham last Friday; Mazraoui was deployed from the offset, while De Ligt entered the fray in the closing stages to replace Harry Maguire.

Long had United been linked with the Dutch international prior to his permanent move. Back in 2019, after he became the first defender to win the Golden Boy award and was one of the most sought-after prospects in Europe, the Red Devils were amongst the mix to try and prise him from Ajax.

Yet, De Ligt opted for Serie A giants Juventus, where he stayed for three years before swapping Turin for Munich.

Fans of both United and Bayern were perplexed by the German club’s desire to offload De Ligt. At only 24 years old, he boasts a plethora of interest across Europe and has never really put a foot wrong when competing at the highest level.

Read more: One of United’s fiercest rivals have emerged as contenders to sign ‘press-resistant’ ace who will be sold this summer

Behind the scenes of De Ligt’s Bayern exit

The Bayern faithful even went as far as to create a petition in hopes of swaying their hierarchy’s mind into keeping the defender. Over 70,000 supporters signed up, although their best efforts were ultimately rendered in vain when the two sides reached an agreement.

When made aware of the possibility of his sale this summer, De Ligt reportedly went to speak to new head coach Vincent Kompany to gauge why this was the case.

Kompany informed him that he had not made the decision and that he viewed De Ligt as his ‘No.1 defender’, leading both to come to the conclusion that it was made at board level, according to The Athletic.