Barcelona were reportedly very keen to offload Frenkie de Jong this summer, in his wages as the perfect way to ease their bills for a while as they sought to overcome the well-documented financial crisis and make new signings.
In the end, they did sign a number of players and spend a lot of money in the market, but De Jong stayed put, and the only way they saw of covering for the expenses was to sell off some of the club’s assets. They eventually did that, prompting scrutiny and call from Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi for the legality of such actions to be investigated.
The main reason for De Jong remaining at the Camp Nou was his flat out refusal to leave and join Manchester United, with whom Barcelona had reportedly reached an agreement. And it seems the Dutch midfielder may get his wish fully, with the Mirror now reporting that the Catalans have made a U-turn and are willing to plan for the future with him aboard.
It will, however, depend on De Jong’s ability to fill the soon-to-be-vacant place of Sergio Busquets in Xavi’s squad. Busquets has truly perfected the role of a defensive midfielder, a holding midfielder to be more precise, in the Blaugrana system down the years, but at the end of the season he will be turning 35, and he apparently sees a move to the MLS as viable option.
Meanwhile, De Jong’s contract runs until the summer of 2026, and there have been reports suggesting Manchester United will try again to get him to accept a move to Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag said to be extremely keen on reuniting with the 25-year-old whom he coached at Ajax.
