De Jong Blames FC Barcelona Board, But Defends Xavi, For Transfer Saga

FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has pointed the figure at the club’s board for trying to force him out in the summer.

De Jong signed from Ajax in 2019, but financial problems at Camp Nou and the emergence of youngsters such as Pedri and De Jong made him a sellable asset ahead of the current season.

Barca were said to have accepted an €85mn ($82mn) offer from Manchester United for his services in July. With a lack of Champions League football at Old Trafford and a desire to succeed under Xavi Hernandez, though, De Jong refused to switch allegiances and remains clear on who wanted to drive him out months later.

“I blame those who wanted me out, but I have nothing to do with them. And clearly they are Barca because they are the ones who run it. In any case, I don’t see them when I’m at the club in my daily routine,” he explained of the club’s board in an interview with De Telegraaf.

“A newspaper published things about my contract. It was clear that I didn’t leak it and there was only one other party that had the contract. It was clear that it came from the club and then you think: ‘It’s not necessary’,” De Jong also explained.

“Suddenly there was a clamor about my contract and what I signed with the previous president. It irritated me that the club would do something like that.”

Though admitting that it was true “that the coach left the door open to the possibility of my leaving because he never said ‘Frenkie stays’,” De Jong has no hard feelings with Xavi.

“I don’t blame him,” De Jong added. “I never had the feeling that Xavi was against me and I think it was very difficult for him to talk about this. He told the media that he was happy with me, but that there was also an economic part. It was clear that he was not the one making the decision.”

De Jong is currently in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup with the Netherlands but will return to action for Barca when they play against Espanyol on New Year’s Eve in La Liga.