After being heavily linked to a move to the Premier League, Frenkie de Jong stated he “always wanted to stay at Barcelona.”
De Jong was said to be attracting interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool, with new United manager Erik ten Hag particularly eager to reestablish his relationship with the Dutchman whom he previously worked with at Ajax.
Barcelona was prepared to transfer De Jong because to their financial crisis, but he chose to stay and is currently under contract until 2024.
Throughout an interview with the media prior to the Netherlands’ Nations League match against Poland, De Jong stated, “I always intended to stay at Barcelona and this is why I always kept calm in the summer.
“I can’t give too much details away. But look, the club has its own ideas and I have my own ideas too and sometimes this clashes with each other. But at the end of the day things went okay.”
Despite the financial difficulties at Barcelona, they signed seven players in the summer including Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Franck Kessie.
De Jong has continued to play a key role in midfield for Barcelona and is part of manager Xavi’s plans.
He has played eight times so far this season, scoring one goal with Barcelona two points behind arch-rivals Real Madrid in La Liga.
The sides will meet in the first El Clasico on October 16 in the middle of a packed month due to the Qatar World Cup which takes place from November 20 to December 18.
