Cristiano Ronaldo Introduced Himself To Matthijs De Ligt As "Agent Ronaldo" On First Day

Matthijs de Ligt has opened up about his first encounter with new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 19-year-old, who finally completed his medical before putting pen to paper on a five year deal this week, has been thrown straight into the action.

De Ligt has travelled with his new teammates for the club's pre-season tour.

And in his first encounter with new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d'Or reminded him of his role in the transfer.

"Everyone helps me and makes for a nice welcome. Cristiano Ronaldo briefly recalled our argument after the Nations League final in June." he said via GOAL.

In fact, de Ligt says he introduced himself as "Agent Ronaldo".

The centre-back later denied that Ronaldo's chat with him at the Nations League made an impact in his decision to join Juve.

"No, then I had already made my choice in my head." he said.

"But of course it was nice what Ronaldo said and it's great to be able to train and play with him."

PA

Ronaldo decided to have a cheeky word with De Ligt after Portugal's 1-0 win over the Netherlands in the Nations League final.

"I didn't understand him at first. I was a little shocked, so I laughed, but I didn't say anything." de Ligt told NOS Sport last month.

"Shortly after the game, you are not at all concerned with it, you are disappointed you have lost and that is the only thing you are thinking about."

It must be a dream come true to play with the former Manchester United winger.

When de Ligt was a kid, his first ever football shirt had Ronaldo on the back and he would regularly imitate the Portuguese star in his back garden.

"During the season, at the club and during competitions, you don't really have the time to review everything as a player," he told Dutch magazine VI last month.

Image: PA

"But sometimes there are times when I realise that it is not normal. Like recently, when I had dinner with some childhood friends.

"We came to the conclusion that I always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo when we were playing football in the garden. That was especially in his time when he played at Manchester United.

"My first football shirt also belonged to him from that time. That dinner was just after the meetings with Juventus, in which I had to fight duels with the same Ronaldo."

Topics: Football News, Matthijs de Ligt, Football, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_