Bayern Munich bosses rubbish Matthijs de Ligt report

Vincent Kompany and Max Eberl have poured cold water on a report that claimed that Matthijs de Ligt was sold by Bayern Munich after being told that he would be the team's first-choice center-back.

It was reported by the Athletic earlier this week - citing Matthijs de Ligt's camp - that the defender was put up for sale against Vincent Kompany's wishes. The report added that the newly appointed head coach had told de Ligt that the Dutch international would be his "number one defender" this season.

"It makes no sense" - Vincent Kompany reacts to Matthijs de Ligt rumor

Those claims have now been rubbished by Vincent Kompany and Max Eberl, with the former vehemently denying saying anything of the sort.

"I definitely didn't say that. It would've been so stupid of me to say something like that - it wouldn't fit with what we've planned for the entire squad, the competition and having two players for each position. And then say something like that to a player that you know is probably leaving? It makes no sense," Kompany said during Saturday's press conference.

Eberl also spoke about the sale of de Ligt. And while the Bayern Munich board member for sport understood the frustration of supporters following the defender's sale, he stated that they cannot make these types of decisions with fans in mind.

"I understand that there are fan favorites, but we don't make decisions based on fan favorites. We spoke to Vincent and made decisions regarding the squad."

Matthijs de Ligt joined Manchester United earlier this month along with Noussair Mazraoui, with Bayern Munich earning a combined fee of around 70 million euros from the sale of the defensive duo.

The Bavarians had replaced de Ligt with Hiroki Ito, so further signings in defense are unlikely to be made before the transfer window closes.