"Frenkie de Jong derby", "Battle of the shameless finished clubs" - Fans react hilariously on Twitter as Manchester United and Barcelona set up UEFA Europa League showdown
Twitter had a field day following the UEFA Europa League draw which saw Barcelona handed a tie with Manchester United in the play-off round.
The Red Devils are being forced to play an extra two games after finishing second in their group, despite winning five of their six games. They only finished behind Real Sociedad on an inferior goal difference, despite a 1-0 win in Spain during their final group stage.
🚨🚨🚨 Our Europa League opponents: Manchester United! https://t.co/pMts6WaHPL
Meanwhile, Barcelona have dropped into the Europa League due to a poor showing in the Champions League. They finished third after failing to beat either Bayern Munich or Inter Milan, despite spending over £100 million in the transfer market. They finished the group stage with just two wins, both over Group C whipping boys Viktoria Plzen.
Following the draw, which took place on Monday afternoon, supporters of all clubs took to Twitter to express their excitement at the fixture.
The fixtures are set to take place in February, with many mocking how far the two heavyweights have fallen. Many referred to the Frenkie de Jong transfer saga that played out between the clubs in the summer.
Here are some of the best tweets:
The De Jong derby. https://t.co/wfKzYLqatF
The Frenkie de Jong derby it just had to be
Ladies and gentlemen the De jong derby is here 🤲😹
@FCBarcelona @EuropaLeague @ManUtd Two finished clubs
Two finished clubs 😂😂😂 twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/…
@DeriKawu @Aadamxy @abdulahmed332 @the_scholar1 Battle of the shameless finished clubs.
The two European powerhouses, who have won eight Champions League titles between them, are set to clash for the first time since 2019. The last time they faced off was in April 2019 in the Champions League quarter-finals where the Blaugrana ran out 4-0 winners on aggregate.
The tie is undoubtedly the most notable fixture in the Europa League playoff round and is littered with subplots everywhere you look.
Cristiano Ronaldo could play against the side he tormented for years with Real Madrid, while De Jong reportedly turned down a summer move to Manchester United.
Paul Scholes has his say on Manchester United vs Barcelona clash
Speaking after Manchester United's 1-0 win over Real Sociedad last week, Scholes claimed that he wanted his former team to take on Barcelona.
The Manchester United legend also expressed his confidence in getting past the Blaugrana, as he explained on BT Sport (as per The Manchester Evening News):
"I would love them to draw Barcelona to get the juices flowing and get a good atmosphere. I think they are capable of beating Barcelona. On the other hand, they are a really good team. As much as I want to play them, they are probably the team you want to avoid."
Scholes further added:
"If you’d have asked me after the first two league games I would have said not a chance. But, you look at them now and the step up in quality in midfield has been really good. There are some really tough teams in there.
As I say, Barcelona would probably be the toughest, but I would like to see that. It would be a massive game and a spectacle and something we would all like to watch. But with the rest of the teams, I think they would be confident of getting through."
Manchester United vs Barcelona is going to be fun 🔥 https://t.co/pQJyXCedzf