MANCHESTER UNITED have signed Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Fees for the pair were not disclosed by the English giants, but British media reports estimated the duo had arrived at Old Trafford for a combined £60 million (€70 million).
Netherlands defender De Ligt, 25, will now join up again with United manager Erik ten Hag, having played under him at Dutch side Ajax, after agreeing a five-year contract with the option of another year.
“As soon as I heard that Manchester United wanted me, I felt an excitement about the opportunity of a new challenge at such a historic club,” said De Ligt.
“In the conversations that followed, I was impressed by the vision that the football leadership set out and the role they saw for me in it.
“Erik ten Hag shaped the early stages of my career so he knows how to get the best out of me and I cannot wait to work with him again.”
De Ligt has already won league titles in three different countries with Ajax (Netherlands), Juventus (Italy) and Bayern (Germany).
He added: “I know what it takes to succeed at the highest level, and I’m determined to continue that record at this special club.”
De Ligt bolsters United’s central defence following the departure of Raphael Varane, with fellow summer transfer window arrival Leny Yoro in danger of being sidelined for up to three months with a foot injury sustained against Arsenal in pre-season.
Mazraoui, 26, also played under Ten Hag at Ajax, winning three league titles with the Dutch club and another with Bayern.
The full-back has also made 28 appearances for Morocco and reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
He has signed a four-year deal with the option of a further year and his arrival comes on the day that full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s departure to Premier League rivals West Ham was confirmed.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be a Manchester United player, and I cannot wait to walk out at Old Trafford wearing the red shirt,” said Mazraoui.
“I know that I’m joining the club at an exciting time; everyone I’ve spoken to has the same ambition for us to win trophies together and I can feel the determination to achieve that.”
The new arrivals are set to be available for United’s season opener against Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday, with the Red Devils desperate to improve on last season’s eighth-place finish.
That left United a huge 31 points adrift of champions Manchester City.
They did beat their local rivals in the FA Cup final before returning to Wembley last weekend to lose to Pep Guardiola’s side on penalties in the Community Shield.
Meanwhile, United defender Luke Shaw has suffered a fresh injury setback and will miss the opening three games of the season, the Premier League giants announced Tuesday.
The England full-back has sustained a calf injury which United say will keep him out until next month’s international break.
Shaw will now miss United’s Premier League fixtures at home to Fulham and Liverpool, as well as their trip to Brighton.
The 29-year-old could now be a doubt as well for England’s Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland next month, the team’s first fixtures under new interim boss Lee Carsley.
“Luke Shaw will miss the opening games of the Premier League season due to a calf injury sustained at the start of pre-season training,” said a United statement.
“He is working hard on his rehabilitation with a view to being available after the first international break.”
Shaw was selected in England’s Euro 2024 squad despite travelling to Germany with a hamstring injury and was unable to play until the quarter-final against Switzerland.
He only made his first start of the tournament in the final, with England losing 2-1 to Spain in Berlin as their wait for a first major men’s football title since winning the 1966 World Cup on home soil was extended to 58 years.
Let’s give the new signings a chance before condemning them
@Diarmuid: Thats all you see on here condemning from muppets who havent a clue
2 very good signings will be great additions.and 2 more incomings by the sound of things??
@Paully kells: I think they’re solid signings having watched them both over the last year and a bit. De Ligt is still so young, but has all the experience and if he hits form he’s incredibly reliable. Mazraoui will definitely offer more in attack than Wan Bissaka who I saw a lot of fans say he didn’t really have an attacking edge. Maz is the polar opposite, but decent defensive ability too.
Another two ex Ajax players.. wow.. dunno how this will go down, considering all the flops that went to United from there
@WqM9AAv3: all the flops I’d say antony and donny van de beek name the rest. I think they are 2 pretty good signings
Onana for one and Martinez who has been injured more than not.
@WqM9AAv3: here’s a few players you forgot zlatan, stam, blind, and Eriksen
@robbie Delaney: Stam a flop? No way, Ferguson was the flop in selling him. Van der Sar another who added to United. The other three above you named did ok and doing ok at United
@WqM9AAv3: so out of all the players named I can only see 2 flops donny and antony so your first comment to me is a load of bull plus antony still has a year or 2 to prove himself stranger things have happened
@robbie Delaney: we’ll agree to disagree Robbie. I stand by my observations as you do too
Another pair of players to be sold on for a loss in a year or two. Just incredible business acumen UTD…
Shaw worse than sicknote anderton
@Declan O Connor: agreed. A pis@taker me thinks. Well suited to his current club where he has plenty of peers starting with his boss.
ETH and is preoccupation with Dutch derived players. I see Scholes questioning this. De Light flopped at Juventus & Bayern. These guys are surfeit at Bayern. More ETH mediocrity is my thinking. I see ETH as a clown by and large – nothing happening to make me change my mind here. These signings confirm Utd’s junior stature in world football. A reality for many years now …. I hope I am proven wrong.
@JJB: Scholes savage player but awful pundit. He said Dier was keeping him out of Bayern side. Truth is Dier played 15 games for Bayern and De Ligt was his CB partner for 14 of those games. Over past 2 seasons Bayern’s top CB Upmacemto played 68 games in same period DreLigt played 61 games. Maybe a reason why over 70000 Bayern fans Signed a petition not wanting him to leave. No doubt some genius will spot about injuries. Over past 2 seasons he was available to play more than any of United’s CB options.
@Jaffa: Facts. I saw the same video on Twitter! He’s a great signing
@Jaffa: why did he leave Juv Jaffacake?
Why was he an unused sub in the Dutch team Jaffacake? Got I can’t wait to hear Ur delululululu excuses Friday night. Loool
@Jaffa: 2 things bother me. 1 ETH obsession with all things associated to his Ajax tenure. 2 Utd buying cast offs from Bayern. If these guys are good enough to make Utd into a team that can compete in the CL, I doubt Bayern would be a seller. Good players? Probably. Great? I doubt it. I have little faith in ETH choices which colors my thinking on everything. These guys will keep Utd as a top 8 team – nothing beyond is my guess.