Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany 'did not want to sell' Matthijs De Ligt to Manchester United this summer and even told the Dutchman that he was his 'number one defender'.
The centre-back moved to the Old Trafford club for £38.5million, with a further £5m in add-ons, last week and was named on the bench for the side's opening fixture of the Premier League season against Fulham.
The former Ajax captain, 25, previously worked with United manager Erik ten Hag at the Dutch club before his departure for Juventus in 2019, and the boss was keen to link up with the defender for some time.
He came through the door with teammate Noussair Mazraoui in a deal that seemed to come out of nowhere and was completed very quickly.
But now it has been revealed that his former boss Kompany actually wanted to keep hold of the defender and the decision to sell him was made by club executives, The Athletic reports.
Matthijs De Ligt moved to Man United for £38.5million, with a further £5m in add-ons
Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany 'did not want to sell' De Ligt this summer
The former Ajax captain previously worked with manager Erik ten Hag (right) at the Dutch club
With head coach Thomas Tuchel leaving in the summer, many thought that De Ligt would stay at Bayern under the new Belgian manager and more than 70,000 fans signed a petition demanding he remain in the team.
A source close to the defender revealed the board 'were playing a game' during talks about his future and they actually wanted the Dutch star to leave, mainly due to his poor distribution with his weaker foot.
Despite Kompany rating the centre-back highly, it soon seemed that a decision had been made at 'board level' to get rid of De Ligt.
The Dutchman believed he had some credit in the bank with Bayern given he had been voted their player of the month in March and April in a title-winning season and that knee injuries had been the main reason for his lack of appearances thereafter.
Being shunned by his national side in the Euros did not help. De Ligt did not play a minute in the tournament as Stefan de Vrij forged a partnership with Virgil Van Dijk which took the team all the way to the semi-finals.
The 26-year-old, hurt by his lack of minutes over the summer, found himself wanting a reunion with old boss Ten Hag, who had made him Ajax's youngest captain aged just 18.
The feeling was mutual, with the Dutch manager desperate for a new centre-back after Raphael Varane's departure and a crippling string of injuries.
As it became clear that De Ligt was suddenly available and at a reasonable price, the club hierarchy soon came to agree with Ten Hag.
Bayern initially demanded £46m (€55m) for the defender but dropped the price as United showed concurrent interest in Morocco international full-back Mazraoui.
With European giants Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona also circling for De Ligt, it was the Dutchman's long-standing love for the Red Devils which put the Old Trafford side in pole position.
The Dutchman believed he had some credit in the bank with Bayern
With head coach Thomas Tuchel leaving in the summer, many thought that De Ligt would stay
He even based much of his game on former United defender Jaap Stam
The centre-back spent much of his younger years studying the defensive partnerships of Sir Alex Ferguson's sides, including that of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
He even based much of his game on former United defender Jaap Stam - even though his compatriot left Old Trafford in 2001 when De Ligt was just two.
If he follows in the footsteps of any of those three giants of Manchester, he will comfortably justify his transfer fee and leave Kompany ever angrier.