Barcelona star Frenkie De Jong has broken his silence over the rampant transfer links associated with the 25-year-old Dutch international this summer after speculation persisted over a possible summer switch to Manchester United.
Fueled by the arrival of Erik ten Hag, it was heavily reported that the midfielder could once again come under the command of the 52-year-old tactician after the pair enjoyed a fruitful working relationship at AFC Ajax before De Jong’s move to Catalunya in the summer of 2019.
But despite Barcelona’s desire to move on from the central midfielder in the summer that saw the Spanish giants need to recoup considerable funds due to growing financial concerns after the club heavily recruited to refresh the team under current boss Xavi, De Jong unwaveringly held his ground when it came to his desire to stay on Spain’s east coast and has finally admitted that he never backed down from his stance at any stage during the transfer window.
When speaking to the press in the run-up to the Netherlands’ UEFA Nations League fixtures against Poland and rivals Belgium, De Jong made clear that his desire was to always stay at Barcelona irrespective of other factors - particularly financial - that were involved in the situation at hand.
“Chelsea and Man United interest? I already decided in May that I wanted to stay at Barcelona. I never changed this decision during the summer. I can’t give too many details away. But look.. the club has its own ideas and I have my own ideas too and sometimes this clashes with each other. But at the end of the day, things went okay.”
Whether De Jong made the right decision, in the end, remains up for debate after the Dutchman has only started three of Barça’s six La Liga fixtures and just one of their two Champions League clashes, having to come off the bench in the 2-0 loss against Bayern Munich but starting in the win over Viktoria Plzen.
With long-term pieces such as Gavi and Pedri continuing to be given chances in conjunction with the free move for Ivorian star Franck Kessié, his place in the XI is no longer guaranteed that it likely would have been at United, who in the aftermath of missing out on their key target, turned to Christian Eriksen instead.
There is always a chance that De Jong could still depart the club moving forward, but for the time being, remains adamant that Barcelona is the ideal location for what is still a young career that has yet to hit the potential heights that is capable of achieving.
