Matthijs de Ligt opted for Juventus without being influenced by Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt said that club's bigwig Cristiano Ronaldo made no influence on his decision of joining the Serie A champions.

Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt is of the view that club's bigwig Cristiano Ronaldo has had no influence on his decision to join the Serie A champions.

"After the Nations League final, I was already sure that I wanted to join Juventus, but it was still a big compliment to have Cristiano ask me to join here but it didn't make the difference," Goal.com quoted De Ligt as saying.

De Ligt said: "I came here because Italy is one of the most traditional countries for defenders. Juventus is a great forwards step for me."

Apart from that, the other reason he divulged that made him to join Juventus was club's manager Maurizio Sarri.

"I spoke to [Maurizio] Sarri on the phone before coming just to get to know each other. He was one of the reasons that I wanted to join here. I've heard a lot of good things about him and I like his footballing philosophy and how he prepares his defence," De Ligt said.

The 19-year-old De Ligt is looking forward to gaining more experience at Juventus.

"I'm still young but I feel like I've got a lot of experience for a 19-year-old. That's why I made this move to gain more experience and to learn from the players here," added De Ligt.

"I'm 19. I can still improve and I want to do that. It's important to work hard every day and to learn and I hope to become a better player," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )