Matthijs de Ligt (born 12 August 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United and the Netherlands national team.

De Ligt's performances earned him a move to Serie A club Juventus in 2019, shortly before being awarded the Kopa Trophy for world's best under-21 player of the year.

After three years in Italy, De Ligt would then join Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in 2022, again capturing a league title in his first season.

[19] On 16 April 2019, De Ligt scored the winning goal in the Champions League quarter-final against Juventus to send Ajax on to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since the 1996–97 edition of the tournament.

[29] On 8 March 2023, at the Champions League round of 16 second leg, he made a goal-line clearance against Paris Saint-Germain, after goalkeeper Yann Sommer lost the ball under pressure, to keep the goalless draw and scoreline at 1–0 on aggregate.

[35] In the first half of the 2023–24 season, he sustained recurring injuries in his right knee, which led to him being surpassed by Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae in the starting lineup under coach Thomas Tuchel.

[36][37] During the latter part of the season, de Ligt forged a robust partnership with newly acquired Eric Dier, contributing significantly to the club's advancement in the Champions League.

[48] On 25 March 2017, De Ligt made his debut for the senior Netherlands national team in a 2–0 away defeat to Bulgaria during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.

[49] During the group stage of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, De Ligt started and played 90 minutes in all four matches against Germany and France.

[52] Four days later, he started alongside captain Virgil van Dijk in central defence as the Netherlands were defeated 1–0 by hosts Portugal in the final.

[56] In November 2022, he was named in the Dutch squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he started the team's opening match against Senegal and appeared as a substitute in a 3–1 win over the United States in the round of 16.

[57] After being initially named in the Netherlands' squad for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals, De Ligt was forced to withdraw due to a calf injury and was replaced by Daley Blind.

[65][66][67][68] His playing style is often compared to that of Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué;[69][70] he has also been likened to Jan Vertonghen, due to his "similar forward surges, a propensity to create an extra man in midfield, and calmness on the ball," and to compatriot Ronald Koeman, courtesy of his "powerful shot and body strength.

Dominant in the air, he is blessed with strength, fine distribution and composure, and is able to play out from the back thanks to his confidence in possession, while his intelligent positioning helps him deny pacy forwards.

"[71] That same year, Paul Wilkes of The Independent wrote that "De Ligt's ability to play out from the back and organise his fellow teammates are valuable commodities in a time when the lack of quality defenders has been highlighted.

"[71] Upon signing with Juventus, Marcello Lippi, one of the club's former managers, said of the defender's precocious performances: "I've seen plenty of greats, like Alessandro Nesta, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Ciro Ferrara, Fabio Cannavaro, and Marco Materazzi.

"[71] In 2019, Giacomo Chiuchiolo described De Ligt as a "complete" and talented young defender, saying that although he is not exceptionally quick, he possesses excellent positioning and an ability to read the game, among his other technical and physical qualities.