Barcelona have started using all of the tools at their disposal to ensure that Frenkie de Jong leaves the club. With his deferred salary and the amortisation of his transfer fee set to hit the club hard in the coming seasons, Joan Laporta is keen to free up finances via a lucrative deal with Manchester United.
Reports emerged that Barcelona had told de Jong to leave the club on Thursday afternoon, followed by the suggestion that the club may leave the Dutch midfielder at home as they proceed on their preseason tour in the United States.
Yet de Jong remains faithful to Johan Cruyff in his approach: stubborn. Sport say that de Jong is determined to stay in Barcelona and when asked by his teammates about his future, he told them that “it’s impossible that I leave Barcelona.”
Recently engaged to Mikky Kiemeny and having just bought a house in the Pedralbes district of the city, de Jong is content with his life in Catalonia and has no intention of tearing that up.
If de Jong does indeed hold out against Barcelona’s wishes, it is worth wondering how it could affect Laporta’s plans. More reinforcements were planned but without the space freed up by a de Jong transfer in the salary limits, they may struggle to register new signings this summer.