Barcelona lost ground in race to sign Ajax captain De Ligt

Barcelona fear they could miss out on Matthijs de Ligt after losing ground in the race to sign the Ajax captain to their European rivals, claims ESPN.

De Ligt will leave Ajax this season after leading his boyhood club to the Champions League semi-final and a domestic double.

Barcelona have already agreed a deal for Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong and were also expected to wrap up the transfer of De Ligt.

However, it has now emerged that the Spanish champions are no longer the favourites for the teenager, with Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain all firmly in the running.

Barcelona are currently running close to their financial capacity and need to offload several high profile names this summer to balance their books.

With Antoine Griezmann also on their summer wish list, finances are holding up their progress for a deal for De Ligt.

Manchester United are also still thought to be in the running to sign De Ligt but it would be a coup if the Red Devils won the race given the mess the club is currently in on and off the field.

De Ligt finished the 2018/19 campaign in the WhoScored Team of the Season in the Eredivisie and the second highest WhoScored rated centre-back (7.32), behind team-mate and former United defender Daley Blind (7.35).