Frenkie de Jong is currently one of Barcelona’s most important players. He has become a vital part of manager Xavi’s team and is very indispensable. Fans of the club adore him and can’t think of him leaving.
However, it was not the same case last summer, with the Catalans in deep financial trouble. In order to ease that burden, they had decided to sell the player for a high fee to Manchester United, where Erik Ten Hag wanted the player very much. But the move never materialized, and now we know why.
Laporta reveals bid rejection on Frenkie de Jong
Earlier today, Barcelona president Joan Laporta spoke in the General Assembly and, at one point, said that they did have a massive offer for Frenkie de Jong but did not accept it.
Barcelona had very good talks with Manchester United at the time, and the two had even agreed on a massive €100 million price tag for the Dutchman. Manager Erik ten Hag had wanted a reunion with the player, leading to a very great offer. Barcelona’s financial troubles would also have been somewhat alleviated if the deal had happened.
But it was reported that the player himself didn’t want the move and refused to budge. This was one of the reasons the deal never happened. But Joan Laporta has now offered a different reason.
He instead said that they didn’t do the deal because of the importance of de Jong as a key player: “We had the opportunity to sell Frenkie de Jong for €100 million. We didn’t want to accept the proposal in order not to lose part of our capacity as Frenkie is a key player.”
Frenkie’s relationship with Barca execs smoothened
After the whole transfer saga, Frenkie de Jong was said to be very angry with the board. However, the relationship between the two parties has now been somewhat repaired in recent days.
Since he has proven to be indispensable to the team, he has been made one of the captains of the team, which was a huge statement by the board to show they trust him. de Jong has a contract until 2026, and the club now want him to sign a longer deal, though with a significant pay cut. As he wants to stay at the club, it remains to see if he does sign the contract to prove that the relationship between the board and himself is completely fixed.
Currently, De Jong is injured and could miss the highly anticipated El Clasico fixture against Real Madrid. Before that, though, Barcelona will have to face Athletic Club on Monday.
