De Ligt confident Ajax’s ‘own CR7’ can cause Juventus problems

Promising Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt believes that teammate Dusan Tadic is just like Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two sides are preparing to go head-to-head in this season’s Champions League quarter-finals.

Is Tadic like Ronaldo? Five things you need to know…

1. Tadic joined Ajax last summer after leaving Premier League outfit Southampton for a transfer fee of £10m.
2. The playmaker made 162 appearances for the Saints, scoring 24 goals.
3. However, he has already exceeded that total for Ajax, with 30 goals from 44 games in all competitions.
4. That includes two Champions League strikes against Bayern Munich and one in a fantastic showing away against Real Madrid.
5. Ronaldo’s goalscoring record is incomparable, scoring 597 goals in 799 games throughout his club career.

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Speaking to reporters about the upcoming tie between Ajax and the reigning Serie A champions later this month, De Ligt acknowledged that Juventus forward Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world.

However, that didn’t stop him comparing the former Madrid and Manchester United star with Ajax’s very own Tadic.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world and Juventus are stronger with him, but on the other hand it’d be fascinating to face off with him,” he said.

“I already played against Ronaldo at international level and it was tough, but I have fond memories, as it was personally a positive game. Plus we’ve got Tadic, our own CR7.”

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A big ask for Ajax

When people saw Ajax get drawn against Real Madrid in the Champions League round-of-16, there were few who believed the Eredivisie title-chasers could get past the 13-time European champions.

However, a majestic away performance in Spain saw Ajax run out 4-1 winners on foreign soil, winning 5-3 across the two legs. Now, Erik ten Hag’s side face an equally difficult task of taking on yet another European great, who also stole Madrid’s key player in Ronaldo last summer.

To repeat the antics of the previous Champions League round would be sensational and it’s hard to label Ajax as anything other than a severely talented and youthful side, able to cause any team problems on the right day.

With that being said, a Ronaldo-inspired Juventus should have enough to get past the Dutch side, unless, of course, Tadic can prove De Ligt’s words correct across the next few weeks.