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BREAKING: Finally, Frenkie de Jong reveals why he snubbed Manchester United and Chelsea
Manchester United and Erik ten Hag have unsuccessfully spent much of the last summer transfer in pursuit Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona.
The deal has been thought by many to go through especially after it appeared that the Catalan giants were desperate to recoup some of the money from his sale.
National Daily learned that De Jong’s former manager at Ajax now United boss, Erik ten Hag, tabled a £72million bid for the 25-year-old but De Jong was reluctant to move to Old Trafford on account of their absence from the Champions League.
And United’s Premier League rivals Chelsea who are in the Champions League sensed an opportunity themselves to lure the midfielder to Stamford Bridge but were also unsuccessful in their bid to convince the Netherlands international to commit himself to Todd Boehly’s rebuilding project at the west London club.
Ultimately, De Jong ended up staying at Barcelona and although he has featured regularly this season, he is not a guaranteed starter in Xavi’s side and admitted he is far from satisfied with playing a bit-part role.
De Jong rebuffed interests from United and Chelsea to remain at Barcelona
Speaking ahead of Netherland’s Nations League game against Poland on Thursday night, De Jong said: ‘I played 8 games this season from which I started four games.
‘In the biggest game, against Bayern Munich, I came on as a sub but I want to play from the beginning. I just have to make sure that I recover my starting spot.’
At the height of the speculation over his future, Barcelona effectively led a smear campaign against De Jong following his refusal to take a pay cut which led to his own fans booing him.
Asked if his relationship with Barcelona’s hierarchy had been resolved, De Jong said pointedly: ‘Between me and my teammates nothing has changed.’
Pushed on whether he ever considered moving to the Premier League, meanwhile, he added: ‘I already decided in May that I wanted to stay at Barcelona and I never changed this decision.
At the height of the speculation over his future, Barcelona effectively led a smear campaign against De Jong following his refusal to take a pay cut which led to his own fans booing him.
Asked if his relationship with Barcelona’s hierarchy had been resolved, De Jong said pointedly: ‘Between me and my teammates nothing has changed.’
Pushed on whether he ever considered moving to the Premier League, meanwhile, he added: ‘I already decided in May that I wanted to stay at Barcelona and I never changed this decision.
‘But at the end of the day things went okay.’