Frenkie de Jong was subject to heavy transfer speculation to Manchester United. However, he was determined and ended up staying in Barcelona. Now, he has broken his silence on the matter and given his take.
Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong was heavily linked to a move away from Spanish giants Barcelona to English giants Manchester United during this summer transfer window. He was supposedly United head coach Erik ten Hag's primary target of the summer and wanted him at all costs, while both clubs had reportedly agreed to an €85 million transfer fee. However, it remained stalled for a long time because Barca owed him wages in due, while the Dutchman was adamant about staying put at Camp Nou. Despite backing from club boss Xavi, the Blaugrana was desperate to sell him to reduce its wage book.
Now, ahead of Netherlands' international assignment, de Jong has opened up on the saga and told NOS, "I knew what I wanted, staying at Barcelona. I can't quite go into details. The club sometimes have its ideas about things, and so do I. Sometimes that collides, but overall it went fine."
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"I always had it clear what I wanted. There was a lot of noise, and a lot happened. It has, of course, been different from other transfer windows for me. Manchester United and Chelsea? In May, I had already decided that I would continue at Barça. I never changed my mind," concluded De Jong.
However, United is unwilling to give up on de Jong anytime soon and would keep pursuing him in the upcoming transfer windows, including the one in January. Meanwhile, the Dutchman has not been a regular starter for Barcelona this season, having been benched on five instances, while he did start in the last couple of matches against Cadiz and Elche.