Frenkie de Jong has broken his silence about his future amid rumours connecting him with a move away from Barcelona to Manchester United. He said he wants to stay at Camp Nou.
“I prefer to stay at Barcelona,” he told ESPN. “I have said this before, Barcelona is the club of my dreams. Contact with other clubs? I do not want to talk about rumours anymore. I feel good at Barcelona. There is no agreement and nothing official.”
If it were purely football reasons there is no doubt that De Jong would stay at Barcelona this summer – he is one of the finest midfielders in European football and still has his best years ahead of him. But Barcelona are living a difficult economic reality.
They need to sell players in order to finance their summer transfer activity and few have the market value of De Jong. That, coupled with their relative strength in the middle of the park, makes the Dutchman the club’s most saleable asset.
De Jong joined Barcelona in the summer of 2019 after starring for the thrilling Ajax team that made it to the semi-final of the Champions League. But he has failed to replicate the form that earned him the move since he has been at Camp Nou.
Frenkie de Jong tells ESPN: “I prefer to stay at Barça. I said this before, Barcelona is the club of my dreams”. 🚨🇳🇱 #FCB
“Contact with other clubs? I don't want to talk about rumors anymore. I feel good at Barcelona. There is no agreement and nothing official”.@TheEuropeanLad pic.twitter.com/A2LcM9iRk3
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 31, 2022
