Frenkie de Jong reveals why he rejected Man Utd

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 9 Mar 2023 10:37 GMT
3 min read

Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona, Man Utd, 2022/23 — © ProShots

Former Man Utd star Dwight Yorke has revealed why Frenkie de Jong rejected the club last summer.

Article continues under the video

United made De Jong their primary transfer target in the summer of 2022 and spent much of the window trying to convince him to join.

However, De Jong refused continuously and he ended up staying put at Camp Nou.

Premier League 2022/23 January transfers: All the Done Deals

What did Yorke say about De Jong?

"I actually spoke to Frenkie de Jong when we played against him in the A-League All-Stars game in Australia.,” Yorke told Premier League Odds.

"I have a little bit of insight, he wanted to see what Barcelona what become under the new guidance of Xavi and see how that panned out before he decided if he wanted to join Manchester United.

"But there is a Dutch connection with Erik ten Hag, De Jong would be a great pick because he's an excellent player.

"He would be the player that would fit into that midfield next to Casemiro and give us a bit more stability. Manchester United would have a very solid core to the team if he was to join."

Barcelona are understood to have accepted an €85m bid from Man Utd in July 2022, and made it clear that they wanted him to move to Old Trafford.

But De Jong refused to join Man Utd and stayed at Barcelona, despite interest from Chelsea and Bayern Munich as well.

Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona, 2022/23 — © ProShots

The 25-year-old has made 32 appearances for Barcelona this season, with Xavi’s team top of La Liga currently.

However, Barcelona are likely to again listen to offers for De Jong this coming summer due to the financial problems engulfing the club.

The Blaugrana must reduce their wage bill by around €200m before they are able to sign new players.

De Jong is one of the highest earners at the club and also one of the few players who can bring in a big transfer fee.

Man Utd are expected to launch a new bid in the summer, with manager Erik ten Hag seeing his former Ajax star as the perfect partner for Casemiro midfield.