Barcelona confirm interest in sought-after Ajax star

The 19-year-old captained the Dutch club to a remarkable 4-1 Champions League last-16 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, which knocked out the defending champions 5-3 on aggregate.

A host of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United, have been linked with a move for the centre-back this summer and Bartomeu made no secret of Barça’s interest.

"His name is on the table," he told Ser Catalunya.

"Where there is such talent away from Barcelona, we're always looking at them.

"It's a topic that will be discussed in our sports planning which begins in March."

Barcelona have already secured the signing of De Ligt’s Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong, who will arrive at Camp Nou in a £74 million move at the end of the season.  

"With De Jong we felt we had to move quickly because there were many clubs that wanted him," he said.