Juventus defender Matthijs De Ligt says he wants to stay with the club for a long time and playing for the Bianconeri is a great honour.
The 20-year-old made the switch from Amsterdam to Turin in the summer and won the Kopa trophy at this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Speaking to the official Juventus TV channel, he offered his thoughts on winning the prestigious award as well life at Juve.
On the Kopa Trophy.
“Obviously I’m very happy. It’s a new prize that was awarded for the first time last year. Mbappé was the first to win it, a really good player.
Honestly, a young De Ligt would have dreamed of all this, but as a child I, was dreaming of becoming a professional footballer, but if I told myself I would win the Golden Boy, the Kopa Trophy and reach the Champions League semifinals at the age of twenty, I would have told a lie to myself. In the end it happened and I hope to make another dream come true tomorrow.”
About life in Turin.
“For me it’s a new thing, I was used to Amsterdam which is a different city to Turin. Here I am happy, I have already seen many interesting places. In Turin, I feel good and I hope to be able to stay here for a long time.”
On the role of his girlfriend Annekee Molenaar.
“She is my best friend, she is a person I can talk to when I am a little down. She is the person who takes care of me, I am very happy to have her by my side. I love her”.
On 2019.
“It was incredible, from a footballing point of view but also for the things I have experienced. I have had many positive experiences, but also negative ones. Many have happened, but I am happy to have had those experiences. I consider myself a lucky person”.
On the interest of Juventus.
“I was very proud. When an important club like Juventus is looking at you, it can only be a great honour. I have always liked Juventus as a club, it has always had great players, and I am very proud to wear this shirt. I like to face new challenges and I like to overcome them: it is an important thing in life. And this was an important challenge.”
On teammates.
“I am very happy here, I feel I am improving every day. I train with the best players in the world. With Bonucci, we understand each other well and complement each other, I know what he can do well, and he knows what I can do well. We try to form a good couple.”
On next year’s goals.
“The most important thing of all is to always want to learn, grow and become a better player. I want to win as many trophies as possible, we want to achieve important goals. If you play at Juventus you must always try to win everything. And that’s what I want to do too: ‘I want to win all the games and all the possible trophies. We will see where we will be able to go.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQlTeBa_MYU
