De Ligt reminds me of Ronaldo - Van der Sar
Van der Sar has first-hand experience of both players and highlighted the similarities between the pair in terms of desire, attitude and ambition.
Ajax chief executive officer Edwin van der Sar has likened Matthijs de Ligt to Cristiano Ronaldo in his desire to be the best in the world.
One of the most exciting and sought after young defenders in world football, De Ligt was the subject of an intense bidding war between Barcelona, Juventus and PSG in the summer. In the end the Dutch international decided to join the Serie A giants, where he has been enjoying the opportunity to work with his self-confessed hero, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Van der Sar has first-hand experience of both players – having played with Ronaldo at Manchester United and worked with De Ligt at Ajax – and highlighted the similarities between the pair in terms of desire, attitude and ambition.
De Ligt wants to be best like Ronaldo - Van der Sar
“He had been all his life at Ajax. So to step away, move with your girlfriend and the family to a different city, a different language…” said the former Dutch goalkeeper of De Ligt in an interview with ESPN.
“But his mentality and the way he wants to improve… he wants to be the best defender in the world. And I’ve seen that with a few players. One of them is playing in the same team, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“When I played at Man United with him, he had the same desire and attitude to work hard, to become better every training. And that’s the same mentality and hunger as Matthijs de Ligt.”