Matthijs de Ligt is the hottest property in world football right now.

At just 19 years old, De Ligt has already established himself as one of the best defenders in world football.

With a host of the world's best clubs chasing his signature, he looks set to move away from Ajax this summer.

It was previously reported that Barcelona were in pole position to sign him.

However, in recent times, Manchester United have entered the running.

Man United are reported to have offered De Ligt a wage packet of €14 million-per-year, a sum that Barcelona are unwilling to match.

And now it appears a Barcelona senior figure has taken a swipe at Man United, saying De Ligt joining the English club instead of them would be 'sacrificing development and ambition for money in the same way'.

According to the Independent, a Barca source said: "With the state they’re in, it’s not far off picking the Chinese league, career-wise.

"It’d be sacrificing development and ambition for money in the same way."

Ouch. It sounds like Barcelona would be pretty annoyed if they end up losing out on De Ligt to United.

Man United and Barcelona are not the only two clubs vying for De Ligt's signature, however.

Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool and Juventus are all said to be interested.

And Louis van Gaal, who has previously managed Barcelona in two separate spells, thinks De Ligt should join Man City instead.

"I think De Ligt fits perfectly with Manchester City," he told FOX Sports, per the Daily Mail.

"Vincent Kompany is already gone and Nicolas Otamendi is not good enough. Then I would love to see him next to Aymeric Laporte.

"Although De Ligt can go to Barcelona too, because I don't like their central defenders either.

"He could play at Barcelona, but he could play for Manchester City also, and in that case I would"choose Pep Guardiola over Lionel Messi."

Who should De Ligt join this summer? Have your say by leaving a comment below.