The Dutch Midfielder Frenkie de Jong Insists He Never Wanted to Leave Barcelona
The summer was quite eventful for the Dutch midfielder, Frenkie de Jong. But after a long silence, the midfielder has finally opened up about the rumored departure from his current club, Barcelona, to Manchester United. Jong revealed that he never wished to leave Barcelona despite his club deciding to let him in the summer transfer window.
Frenkie de Jong To Stay In Barcelona
Per the big reveal, Barcelona wanted to let go of its midfielder Frenkie de Jong after several clubs showed interest in the Dutch international. Manchester United and Chelsea were in negotiations with BARCA, and the Spanish club was ready to proceed with the deal if it happened; however, Barcelona publicly maintained that Jong was a valuable player the team management wanted him to stay.
The primary motivation for Barcelona to sell Jong was his high salary and the deteriorating financial conditions of the Spanish club, which forced it to offload some of its assets. Jong was one of those assets; plus, Manchester United and Chelsea showed genuine interest in the midfielder.
Barcelona sensed an opportune and was ready to pave an exit for Jong. However, many expressed their concern that Barcelona is trying too hard to force out a valuable player. But ultimately, the matter ended amicably.
Frenkie de Jong Finally Broke His Silence
After the snubbed deal with Manchester United, the Dutch midfielder recently broke his silence on the issue in a press conference. In the press conference for the Netherlands, Jong answered a question regarding his summer at Barcelona, “I always wanted to stay at Barcelona, and that’s why I always stayed calm during the summer.”
He further stated, “I can’t give many details. But look… The club has its ideas, and I have ideas of my own, too, and sometimes, these ideas clash. But in the end, things turned out well.”
I always had it clear what I wanted. There was a lot of noise, and a lot happened. It has, of course, be 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.”
Barcelona’s Finance Dominated Its Transfer Dealings
It’s no secret that Blaugrana was going through a severe financial crunch. The financial intricacies forced the Spanish giant to sell off some of its assets to balance the book and also bring in players that might fill the gap left by the former players. Jong’s name was included in the list of salable assets, despite Xavi maintaining that the midfielder is still valuable to Barcelona.
Reports also revealed that the English giant Manchester United offered around €80 million to bring the attacking midfielder under its fold. However, the deal couldn’t go through due to some issues related to deferred wages.
Another English club Chelsea also joined the race and went in to talk with Barcelona about the alleged transfer of Jong. Despite the rumors that two big names of English football are in a race to grab the midfielder, Jong always maintained that he is happy in Barcelona and does not intend to leave.
When signing the new contract with Barcelona in 2020, which tied him with the Spanish club until 2026, D Jong agreed to defer a big amount of his salary for a later period. And now Jong will receive a much bigger paycheck than he used to get earlier. But the high salary of Dutch became a point of contention between the player and the financially struggling BARCA.
The condition led BARCA to find ways to come out of the contract. Sources also reveal that BARCA sent a warning that his contract contains irregularities. However, there were none, and the tactic was only to pressure the player to accept low salary terms or leave the club.
Jong’s Performance In the Current Season
Jong has spent much less time on the field this season. The Dutch midfielder has only started in four games of the eight played by BARCA in all competitions this season. And given BARCA’s recent performance, the situation doesn’t seem to change for De Jong.
Xavi’s squad is performing well, and the coach has no reason to disturb the team’s combination. Therefore, although Jong successfully avoided a likely exit from Barcelona, he still has to wait for more time on the field.
