Barca Boss Valverde hits out at Guardiola over De Jong talks

Ernesto Valverde has hit out at Pep Guardiola after new Barcelona signing Frenkie de Jong claimed the Manchester City boss made contact with him personally about signing for the Premier League champions,National Daily learnt.

De Jong had been heavily linked with City before agreeing a deal with Barca, and Guardiola had made no secret of his interest in the Netherlands international.

Last week, De Jong claimed that Guardiola had contacted him directly whilst he was still under contract at former club Ajax.

“Talking to a player who is under contract with another team is something that can’t be done,” he said.

“You can’t talk to a player who is under contract and that’s something that isn’t in my personal code, but suffice to say, everyone has their own way of acting.”

Barca finally landed De Jong last week after a lengthy courtship, signing a five-year contract set to commence on 1 July this year, and the 21 year-old will be expected to fight for a place in Valverde’s first-team line-up.