Matthis de Ligt took a thinly-veiled swipe at his former league, the Bundesliga, just weeks after signing for Manchester United.
The Dutch centre-back has made just three appearances for the Red Devils – but has already reaffirmed how glad he is about the £42million move.
The 25-year-old spent two seasons playing in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich where he helped the side to the league title in 2022/23 and a DFL Supercup title in 2022.
He made a total of 73 appearances for the side and was a significant part of their Champions League campaign last season.
However, despite his success in Germany, De Ligt has admitted there is one thing he is much happier about now that he has made the move to England.
Speaking after the Netherlands‘ UEFA Nations’ League clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he explained exactly what that was.
“I am happy with my move to Manchester United,” he said.
“Also because I stay in the picture. The Premier League has more viewers, the Bundesliga lesser.”
When it comes to the stats, there is absolutely no arguing with De Ligt’s statement.
Back in 2022, Red Bull analysis found that the Premier League easily topped the list of most-watched leagues in the world.
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A whopping 3.2 billion people had watched the league in the 2018/19 season.
Meanwhile, the Bundesliga ranked just fifth in that list with around six million fans tuning into the season immediately after the Covid-19 break.
While those figures may fluctuate slightly from season-to-season, there is no doubting which league attracts the higher viewership.
De Ligt will undoubtedly have more eyes on him now that he will be donning the Man United shirt on matchdays.
But the former Juventus man will have to remember that with greater attention also comes greater scrutiny, as he was reminded after this particular Nations League fixture.
The Dutch managed a 5-2 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina – but it was a nightmare evening for De Ligt.
Both goals conceded by the Netherlands were at least in some part down to his individual mistakes.
His poor positioning meant Ermedin Demirovic was able to remain onside for the first goal, while he was caught completely unaware by Edin Dzeko for the second.
It led to Dutch boss Ronald Koeman springing to his defence after the game when asked specifically about the mistakes.
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“(De Ligt) himself realises that he was in the wrong position,” he said.
“This should not happen, but mistakes are part of football. I think it is unfair to make a big deal out of it.”
The Man United defender likewise owned up to his missteps himself.
“I think you know how I feel.. we won.. but then comes the individual part,” he said. “I should have done better at their second goal, and I know that.
“I don’t really know what happened.. I should have cleared the ball but I kept having doubts during the play. It’s just f****d.”
He added: “If this game is a missed opportunity for me? I don’t know.. I just try to do my best.”
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The game will come as an extra blow to De Ligt, who has failed to have the dream start under Erik ten Hag that he would have liked.
He has made just one start for Man United, which resulted in a 3-0 drubbing by Liverpool.
No doubt when Man United return to action on Saturday 14 September with an away fixture against Southampton, De Ligt will be determined to reward those extra viewers of the Premier League with a much-improved showing.
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