The supporter-led petition battling Matthijs de Ligt’s proposed transfer to Manchester United has exploded in a matter of days, now passing the 36,000 mark.
Earlier in the week, Bayern Munich fans raged at the idea that the club were so primed to move the 24-year-old on, only two years on from his arrival. The petition, started on June 11, had hit 7,000 signatures only four days ago – 350 signing that day – once United‘s interest was announced.
Now in a much shorter space of time, the online change.org petition has exploded and received the backing of almost 20,000 more people as of July 6. This looks to have come after a high-profile name, BILD journalist Christian Falk, publicised the matter on his Bayern Insider podcast.
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The German reporter, speaking alongside Tobias Altschaffl, made his support for the movement clear though said he would not be adding his own signature. “No [I won’t be voting], I have to remain neutral, I create a bit of a mood via the podcast,” he said.
Also providing the latest update on De Ligt, they squashed the idea that United and Bayern have been in contact over the defender’s transfer in recent days and even claimed that ‘new player’ Paris Saint-Germain have entered the race. As a warning to United, they stated that the French club will easily be able to afford Bayern’s £42.5m asking price.
On the sho,w Falk said that petition had somewhere between 10,000-12,000 signatures, so it would seem that the publicity he provided the idea of another major European club coming into the fold has caused Bayern supporters to react in such a way.
As a boost to United’s hopes, it was also claimed that De Ligt himself is ‘interested’ in the idea of moving to Old Trafford and reuniting with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag. However, the player, who is competing at Euro 2024 with the Netherlands, has still not said yes to anything regarding a summer move.
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