Frenkie de Jong to Man Utd transfer not ruled out by Barcelona
FT Desk
- Updated: 30 Jul 2022 14:24 BST
- 3 min read
Frenkie de Jong has been linked with a move to Manchester United from Barcelona for much of the transfer window. The player may not want to go, but his current employers aren't ruling anything out.
De Jong won the Dutch domestic double under Erik ten Hag at Ajax in 2019 before making a "dream" move to Barcelona, but he has thus far resisted United's attempts to reunite player and coach in Manchester.
The Red Devils are looking for a central midfielder with Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic having left on free transfers to Juventus and Roma respectively, while Barcelona's need to balance the books has been well documented, the club slowly emerging from their €1 billion debt.
Manchester United have been in talks for Frenkie de Jong for nearly three months - they can't afford to miss out on him now 😖https://t.co/XmWL1j0sZG
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 28, 2022
De Jong is still owed a reported €20 million in deferred wages by Barcelona, and with Man Utd missing out on this season's Champions League, his desire to stay put from a financial and sporting point of view is understandable.
Barca president Joan Laporta, while praising the Netherlands international, refused to rule out any sale when speaking to American TV network CBS Sports.
Laporta: 'You never know'
"In football, you never know," he said. "I can't say categorically. It all depends on the different parties. But in principle, I can say there is a strong possibility he stays, and I can say as president I will do my best for him to stay at Barcelona.
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"We want Frenkie to stay at Barcelona. We love the player and him as a human being. I want him to stay at Barcelona. He's a high-quality player and a good guy. I also know that he wants to stay."
De Jong was used at centre-back by coach Xavi in the recent 1-0 win over Clasico rivals Real Madrid in Las Vegas, adding further fuel to the fire that Barcelona were trying to encourage the player to leave for pastures new.
