Barcelona President Joan Laporta has told members that the Blaugrana rejected a bid of €100m for Dutch midfielder last summer.
During the general assembly, Laporta was highlighting that his board have worked to save the club from financial ruin, and have maintained a competitive team while doing so. He used de Jong’s presence as evidence of that.
“We cannot improve sportingly if we do not do our homework economically. We have had the opportunity to sell Frenkie de Jong for €100m, and we did not want to do it so as not to lose our ability to be competitive.”
It is widely suspected that this bid came from Manchester United two summers ago, when Erik ten Hag arrived and was keen on taking to de Jong to Old Trafford.
It proved to be an astute decision, at least in terms of their competitiveness. De Jong played a key role under Xavi Hernandez last season, with a double pivot containing the Dutchman and Sergio Busquets sustaining Barcelona through the second half of the season, and guiding them to their first La Liga title in three years. If he can continue at the level he started this season, then Barcelona have one of the best midfielders in the world amongst their ranks.
