It is now well known that Rafael van der Vaart does not think much of Harry Maguire. When it comes to Matthijs de Ligt, he dares to make a comparison.
Rafael van der Vaart has praised Bayern Munich’s central defender Matthijs de Ligt’s improvement in performance – and in the process once again slapped Manchester United captain Harry Maguire.
As a TV expert at Ziggo sports said van der Vaart: “During his time at Juventus, when there was a through ball and he had to turn, he looked like Harry Maguire. Now he’s the same again.”
The 40-year-old also praised his compatriot: “You can see that he’s more agile and agile. That certainly has something to do with his fitness. He’s livelier, fitter and feels a lot better. The sluggishness is gone.” At the World Cup, de Ligt did not have a regular place in the Dutch national team, but according to van der Vaart, Elftal’s defense must now be built around the Bayern star and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
A comparison with Harry Maguire is certainly not to be taken as a compliment from the mouth of van der Vaart. The former HSV captain has made several disparaging remarks about the Englishman in recent years, for whom ManUnited once paid 87 million euros.
Among other things, van der Vaart said in 2019: “If I look at an amateur game on Sunday, I find three players who play like him.”
Speaking in 2020, he said: “I think Maguire goes home every day and tells his wife, ‘It’s not my fault, but I earn so much. They really think I’m good.’ I really think so, he laughs at everyone.”
Continuing his Maguire-bashing in 2021, Van der Vaart etched: “He’s just s***. I don’t understand how United could pay €90m for him. Where did they look for him? You can find players like him at everyone amateur club in Holland.” He called Niklas Süle the “German Harry Maguire” during the World Cup in Qatar.
Like van der Vaart, de Ligt hails from the Ajax Amsterdam youth team. From there he moved to Juventus in 2019 for around 85 million euros. Bayern brought him to the Isar in 2022 for 67 million euros.
