"I was never really confused" - Barcelona star explains why he rejected bids from Manchester United and Chelsea
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has claimed that he rejected transfer offers from Manchester United and Chelsea during the summer transfer window due to his inclination to stay at Camp Nou.
De Jong, 25, was at the center of a transfer saga earlier this summer as he was heavily linked with Manchester United and Chelsea. Despite Barcelona's wish to offload him to help balance their books, the Netherlands international decided against securing a summer switch.
A right-footed, press-resistant central operator, De Jong remained adamant about not departing the Blaugrana without having paid his deferred wages.
#FCB
Barça president Laporta on Frenkie de Jong: “We’ve received many bids from Premier League for Frenkie, big money — but we decided to keep a quality player like FdJ”. ⭐️🇳🇱 #FCB
“We’ve never forced any player to reduce his salary, we’ve just asked in pacific way”. https://t.co/Vc5STZo6Ft
During an interview with Ziggo Sport, De Jong was asked about Manchester United and Chelsea's pursuit of him in the summer.
He replied:
"I have to say that I was actually quite calm. I decided in May that I wanted to stay at Barça. My opinion about it has not changed since then. I was always calm."
De Jong, who arrived from Ajax for €101 million in the summer of 2019, further revealed that he was pressured to leave this summer by Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
He elaborated:
"But you know, the pressure always arrives in such a period... from the newspapers, the president. From all angles, in fact. But I always wanted to stay at Barça, so I was never really confused."
De Jong, whose contract is set to expire in June 2026, has struggled for minutes at Camp Nou this season. He has started just four matches across all competitions, scoring one goal, with Blaugrana manager Xavi Hernandez preferring to utilize Pedri and Gavi in midfield.
Overall, De Jong has registered 14 goals and 18 assists in 150 games for the LaLiga giants, lifting the 2020-21 Copa del Rey in the process.
Liverpool are eyeing a move to sign Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong in January
According to SPORT, Liverpool have entered the race to sign Frenkie de Jong in the upcoming winter transfer window to address their injury-stricken midfield. Manchester United are also interested.
Liverpool were in pursuit of a first-team midfielder in the summer. However, the Reds missed out on Aurelien Tchouameni's signature and ultimately roped in Arthur Melo on a temporary deal from Juventus.
But due to an injury crisis in the midfield department, the club are poised to delve deep into the transfer market in January.
With Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner in the final year of their contracts, Liverpool are interested in shoring up their midfield for the future. Due to his limited number of minutes at Barcelona so far, De Jong has emerged as a potential choice.