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De Ligt 'always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo' as he closes in on €70m Juventus move

Matthijs de Ligt dreamed of being Cristiano Ronaldo when playing football as a child and now looks set to become the Portuguese's team-mate at Juventus.

The 19-year-old centre-back is close to moving to Turin on a five-year deal for €70 million (£63m/$80m), as confirmed by Goal, following months of speculation about his future.

De Ligt has been linked with a number of top European clubs after his mature performances as Ajax captain in the Champions League last term, with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United among those to have expressed an interest.