Barcelona confirm pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt after Ajax’s Champions League upset against Real Madrid

The 19-year-old captain was phenomenal in Ajax's 4-1 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday

Barcelona’s club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has given the club his full backing in their pursuit of Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.

The 19-year-old captain was phenomenal in Ajax’s 4-1 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday and has been linked with a move to a number of Europe’s top clubs.

Barcelona are keen to unite the defender with fellow starlet, Frenkie de Jong, who joins Barcelona at the end of the season for £65m.

“We have to talk about it from March [signing De Ligt], which is when we take the decisions, but his name is on the table, of course,” Bartomeu told SER Radio.

De Ligt became the first defender to win the Golden Boy award last year and has already been capped 12 times by the Netherlands.

Last week, Ajax’s sporting director, Marc Overmars, made no secret that it’s likely De Ligt will leave the club in the summer.

“For me, De Ligt can play easily for any of the six best teams in the world,” Overmars told Spanish newspaper AS.

“Right now, he has the power, the mentality. He has the heart.

“If I worked at another club, I would like to sign him immediately.

“We do not need to sell him, we do not need the money, why be too rich? But I know he will go to one of the big ones.”