Frenkie de Jong seems to be the player destined to leave Barcelona in this transfer window. The 25-year-old has made it known publicly that he desired to stay with the Spanish side, but the idea of club officials seems to be otherwise.
Joan Laporta, Barcelona's president, said: "We will do what is best for the club. Frenkie is a coveted player in the market, and we have received offers. The priority is the club's economy”. For his part, Xavi Hernandez stated: "For me, Frenkie is very important. He has been a starter in most games except when he has had to rest, but then there is also the economic situation of the club”.
The club made it known that their priority is their economy and the sale of the Dutchman could help to solve the finances. As the situation became known, the fight for the De Jong were between Manchester City and Manchester United.
The bid from Pep Guardiola's team never arrived, and the Red Devils took the pole position, but they have yet to agree on the numbers with Barcelona. The Cules let them know how much money they are seeking for the sale of De Jong.
Manchester United know how much they will have to pay for De Jong
Since Erik ten Hag was announced as Manchester United's new manager, De Jong has become a top target for the Premier League side. A few weeks ago, Marca assured that the Red Devils sent the Spanish team an offer of 60 million euros plus 20 million in bonuses for De Jong. The bid was rejected.
Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold said the club is "doing everything possible" to close the deal for De Jong. And according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Red Devils and Barcelona have been in direct contact for De Jong, and the Cules told Manchester United they won’t sell the Dutchman for less than €86,000,000. Barcelona want a full fee guaranteed, also because of La Liga rules to reinvest the money.
If Barcelona and Manchester United agree on that amount of money, the Spanish side would recover the money it paid Ajax in 2019 for the 25-year-old player. According to Transfermarkt, they paid €86,000,000.
Also, if Barcelona succeed in selling De Jong for €86M it would be the second most expensive sale in their history. The first place is taken by Neymar's transfer to PSG in 2017 for €222,000,000, and currently in second place is Arthur's transfer to Juventus for 72,000,000 euros.
