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Matthijs de Ligt is due to undergo a medical examination at Juventus on Wednesday to finalize his transfer of £ 67.5m since Ajax.
The 20-year-old is in demand, but the Serie A giants seem to have finally won the Dutch defender's signing race after resisting competition from Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
It may well be that Cristiano Ronaldo is thanked, after the Portuguese superstar played a crucial role in persuading the boy to go to Turin and become his teammate.
De Ligt explained what Ronaldo had to say to him after his defeat against Portugal last month.
(Image: Lars Baron)
"I did not understand it at first," said De Ligt OUR .
"I was a little shocked, so I laughed, but I did not say anything.
"Shortly after the match, you're not at all worried, you're disappointed to have lost and that's the only thing you think about."
As the defender insisted, his attempts to convince him to join Juventus had little impact at the time, but this appears to have been a turning point in the negotiations.
(Image: Sky Sports)
At this point, Barcelona and PSG were both firmly engaged in the race, before Juventus released him and convinced him to accept a high contract, estimated at around 12 million pounds. sterling a year, before granting fees to Ajax this week.
De Ligt was quoted as saying that Ronaldo was his first idol in his childhood, which could have influenced his decision to join him as a teammate in Turin.
(Image: Lars Baron)
"I've always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo when [my friends and I] were playing football in the garden, "said De Ligt VI in May.
"It was especially in his day when he played Manchester United.
"My first football shirt also belonged to him at that time."
(Image: Getty Images)
It was also reported that De Ligt's early reflections of playing for Juventus appeared when he saw the standing ovation that Ronaldo had after his exploits at Real Madrid as an opponent of the league champions in 2017.
While the money was clearly a key factor as in any transfer, the role of Ronaldo seems to be evident in the gesture of De Ligt as the duo prepares to be teammates in a new era for Juventus under Maurizio Sarri.
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