Frenkie de Jong from FC Barcelona was one of the most discussed players of the summer: Barça wanted to give him up, Manchester United with de Jong’s ex-coach Erik ten Hag wanted to have him – and in the end everything stayed the same. “I was calm. I decided in May that I wanted to stay,” the Dutchman told the broadcaster.Ziggo sports“. “My opinion never changed during this phase. But you know the pressure will come.”
The Catalans reportedly wanted to get de Jong off the payroll as he is expected to earn around €90m gross by the end of the contract in 2026. This sum comes about because the midfielder is said to have given up part of his salary at the beginning of the corona pandemic in order to help the club, which apparently will be on top of his salary in the coming years.
According to de Jong, the pressure came “from the newspapers, from the President. Actually from everywhere, but I wanted to stay at Barça – it didn’t surprise me.” Club president Joan Laporta put together a new team last summer and took a financial risk to do so. De Jong, who was hired by Ajax Amsterdam for EUR 86 million in 2019, is playing an unusual role this season: he commutes between the bench and the starting eleven.
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“I knew that I would play fewer minutes at the start of the season,” said de Jong, who only came off the bench in the big games against FC Bayern and Inter Milan in the Champions League. “I wasn’t a starter against FC Bayern, but I hope to be again against Real Madrid.” Thanks to the better goal difference, the Catalans travel to Madrid as the front runners – the kick-off is at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Rumour: Liverpool FC on transfer from FC Barcelona de Jong
In Spain, meanwhile, rumors are circulating that Liverpool FC is also said to have started courting de Jong. This is reported by the Barcelona-based “Sports“. Man United are also still interested in signing the central midfielder. There could be a great need in central midfield, especially for Jürgen Klopp’s Reds, because the contracts of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keïta and loan player Arthur Melo are expiring. If de Jong’s minutes remain so manageable, the likelihood of a transfer should increase.
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