Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has not hidden his desires to be reunited with his compatriot Frenkie de Jong at Old Trafford, but the 25-year-old is believed to have been intent on staying at Camp Nou despite Barcelona prepared to sell the Dutchman in order to balance their finances and get some high earners off their wage bill.
Though United have prioritized a move for De Jong since the start of the summer as Ten Hag was believed to have made the former Ajax midfielder his top target, it was understood that De Jong has maintained a major reservation about moving to Old Trafford, which is primarily unconnected to their lack of Champions League football.
Meanwhile, National Daily understood that De Jong’s agent has also approached Chelsea in recent weeks and it is believed that the 25-year-old would be more open to a move to Stamford Bridge owing to Barca’s latest ultimatum.
However, United have agreed a €85 million (£71.7m) deal with Barcelona for De Jong, while Chelsea are unwilling to match that offer
National Daily further gather from a report by Cope, that Barcelona have clearly explained the situation to De Jong’s representative that the player must either accept a wage cut or agree to leave Camp Nou.
The report claims that Barcelona would save around €40 million (£33.6m) if they manage to get De Jong off their wage bill.
Barcelona must also settle their wage dispute with De Jong as they owe him around €17m (£14m) after he agreed to defer part of his salary to help the club’s financial situation.
Despite Barca’s desire to sell De Jong, Xavi insisted at the weekend that the midfielder remains a key part of his plans.
‘I have chatted with him, he knows how much I value him, I value him very much as a footballer,’ said Xavi.
‘We have had very important private conversations that I will not reveal here. For me, he is a fundamental player for the team’s play.’