August 13th 2024.
Manchester United has officially announced the addition of two new players to their roster: Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. The news of their arrival was met with great enthusiasm, especially from former Ajax teammate Andre Onana, whose reaction quickly went viral.
The Red Devils have secured the services of the two defenders in a double deal worth a staggering £60 million. De Ligt was acquired for a fee of £38.6 million plus £4.3 million in add-ons, while Mazraoui cost £17.1 million. Both players will be reunited with their former coach, Erik ten Hag, whom they had previously played under at Ajax.
Interestingly, De Ligt and Mazraoui are the fourth and fifth former Ajax players to join Manchester United in the past two years, following in the footsteps of Lisandro Martinez, Antony, and Onana. The latter, in particular, could not contain his excitement and shared a video on his Instagram story of himself dancing wildly in celebration of the new signings.
Ajax also chimed in on the news, posting a playful message on Twitter. Meanwhile, Martinez, who is currently a center-back for the club, had a more composed response, stating in an interview with BBC Sport that he is "so excited" for De Ligt and Mazraoui and believes they will quickly prove their worth on the team.
De Ligt and Mazraoui will wear the numbers 4 and 3, respectively, for Manchester United. They are both expected to be in contention for the team's first game of the new Premier League season against Fulham on Friday night. De Ligt will don the iconic No.4 shirt, previously worn by the likes of Phil Jones, Owen Hargreaves, and Nemanja Vidic. Meanwhile, Mazraoui will take on the No.3, which has been vacant since 2022 when Eric Bailly departed Old Trafford. This number holds a lot of significance, having been worn by club legends Patrice Evra and Denis Irwin in the past.
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