‘Of Course He Is Getting A Lot Of Offers’-Joan Laporta Delivers Final Verdict On The Future Of Frenkie De Jong

In a recent press conference, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that Frenkie de Jong is not for sale, even though other teams have made offers.

It’s a terrible setback for Manchester United and their plans to bring in new players. Last month, it was said that Erik ten Hag’s team was “close” to signing the Barcelona midfielder for £68 million.

They wanted to make the move by June 30, but two bids, including one for £56 million, were turned down, so neither club has reached a deal yet.

And after weeks of talk about what would happen to De Jong, Joan Laporta’s latest move makes it look like a transfer won’t happen soon.

On Wednesday afternoon, when Franck Kessie’s transfer was announced, the 60-year-old gave a clear message about the situation.

What did Joan Laporta say about Frenkie De Jong?

He said, “Frenkie de Jong is a player for Barcelona. We don’t want to sell him unless there’s nothing else we can do. Of course, we know that De Jong is getting offers. We don’t want to sell him, though.”

This week, Laporta said again that De Jong was not for sale, even though Manchester United and other clubs were interested.

He said, “Manchester United isn’t the only team that wants him. We don’t plan to sell him, and he wants to stay. All experts agree that Frenkie is one of the best midfielders in the world. We’re glad he’s here. I’ll do everything I can to keep Frenkie here, but there’s a problem with his salary that would need to be fixed.”

Despite what Laporta said in public, Spanish journalist Gerard Romero thinks the Catalan club wants closer to £64 million upfront plus £10 million in add-ons and bonuses.

It looks like this will be a long story this summer. Erik ten Tag has a lot of respect for De Jong after how important he was to Ajax’s success in 2019.

To give you an idea of how interested Ten Hag was, the Dutch manager used to call him “every day” to talk about a possible move to Old Trafford.

The Mirror says that the midfielder was convinced when he heard how ambitious his old manager’s plans were.