Dutch soccer star Matthijs de Ligt plans to avoid COVID-19 vaccine

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Matthijs de Ligt, a current defender for Juventus and a member of the Dutch national team, said Saturday he has no interest in getting the COVID vaccine despite contracting the virus in January.

De Ligt told ESPN NL he thinks he should "be in charge" of his body.

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"I have not taken a vaccination, it is not mandatory," he told the outlet. "I think you should be in charge of your own body. The risk of infection is always there. I try to come into contact with as few people as possible outside the Dutch national team."

De Ligt finished his second season with Juventus of Italy’s Serie A. He played in 29 matches and managed to score one goal during the season. He played in 29 matches in 2019-20 when Juventus finished on top of Serie A.

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He came over from Ajax, where he helped the club finish in either first or second place between 2016 and 2019.

He also denied any rumors he was looking to sign with FC Barcelona of La Liga.

"I am very happy at Juve. I feel like a fish in water," he said. "I feel good on the pitch and appreciated. Would they let me go? There are plenty of clubs that have money problems, but you should ask the club. I don't know. These [Barcelona rumors] make no sense now. That is not important to me and nobody has informed me about it."

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De Ligt will be on the Dutch team for Euro 2020, which was pushed back to June because the global pandemic shut the sport down last year. Netherlands play Ukraine on June 13 in the first group stage match.