When Juventus splashed the cash for Matthijs de Ligt back in 2019, fans and observers alike believed that the club had found the long term replacement for the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

Nonetheless, the Dutchman’s stint in Turin only lasted three years. Last summer, he made the switch to Bayern Munich, and his remarks towards the Old Lady have been anything but pleasant.

Although he hasn’t been an automatic starter for the Bavarians, the 23-year-old is apparently enjoying his time in the Bundesliga, aiming another dig towards his former employers.

In a recent interview, de Ligt bafflingly said that his plan was to join a “big club”.

“I think I have grown a lot at Bayern. I’m happy,” he told Bild via JuventusNews24.

“We’ve also been playing very well recently. The plan was to go to a big club and it worked out. It’s very beautiful.”

Juve FC say

We’re glad that the young man is happy to be at Bayern, but his insistence on diminishing Juve’s status remains perplexing given that the club helped him in his development.

While some might consider it a slip of the tongue or simply remarks taken out of context, the defender’s previous comments (including a “leap in quality”) suggests otherwise.

Based on his World Cup performance against Senegal, de Ligt hardly improved his game following his departure, prompting Louis van Gaal to drop him out of the starting formation for the rest of the tournament prior to their elimination at the hands of Argentina.