Massimiliano Allegri insists Matthijs de Ligt will stay at Juventus ‘for many years’ despite the defender’s agent Mino Raiola claiming the Dutchman could leave in the summer.
De Ligt joined Juventus from Ajax in a €75m deal plus €10.5m add-ons in 2019.
Allegri had been sacked by the Bianconeri only a few months earlier, with Maurizio Sarri coming in as a replacement.
The 22-year-old defender is in the spotlight and seems to have lost his starting spot with his club and country.
His contract with Juventus expires in June 2024, but his agent Mino Raiola has revealed that his client could leave Juventus much earlier than that.
“De Ligt could leave Juve at the end of the season. That’s how the market works, there are many clubs interested in signing him,” the Italian agent told Rai Sport.
However, Allegri believes the Dutchman will stay in Turin for many years.
“There is a standard path for everybody, players and coaches. De Ligt is a young player with quality, but he still needs to improve and will stay many years at Juventus, regardless of how many games he plays,” the coach said during his pre-match press conference ahead of Juventus vs. Milan.
“De Ligt is 22 years old. He is an excellent player. He joined Juventus from Ajax when he was only 20. After he arrived here, somebody wrote: ‘He is a future Ballon d’Or winner.’
“Guys, calm is needed. He is 20, but the Juventus jersey is a heavy one. Chiellini was probably not as good as De Ligt at his age, but at 27-28, he became a great player. It takes time.”
De Ligt scored the winner in Ajax’s 3-1 victory over Max Allegri’s Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2019.
That defeat is believed to be one of the reasons why the Serie A giants decided to sack the Italian coach despite him winning 11 trophies during his five-year spell at the Allianz Stadium.
Allegri returned to Juventus in the summer to replace Andrea Pirlo, who had missed out on a tenth consecutive Serie A title, managing a mere top-four finish.