Frenkie de Jong was left out of Barcelona’s starting XI then played out of position as a substitute against Inter Miami after liking an Instagram post that appeared to slam the club’s attempts to sell him to Manchester United while deferring his wages
- Manchester united have spent all summer trying to sign Frenkie de Jong
- A fee has been agreed but there are a number of other complications
- Barcelona faced Inter Miami in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday night
- De Jong stated on the bench and was then brought on to play in defence
Barcelona played Frenkie de Jong out of position after leaving him out of their starting line-up for their opening pre-season friendly on Tuesday as his transfer saga continues.
United have spent all summer trying to get a deal over the line for the Dutch midfielder.
They finally reached a £71.5million agreement with Barcelona but issues surrounding a sum of £17m in deferred wages and bonuses owed to the midfielder has stalled any move.
Barcelona played Frenkie de Jong out of position after leaving him out of their starting line-up
De Jong appeared to show his frustration over the weekend as he was caught liking an Instagram post which said ‘I dislike the way we have handled Frenkie’s situation’.
And it seemed as if he was being punished on Tuesday as he was left out of the starting line-up for Barcelona’s pre-season friendly against inter Miami.
It didn’t end there, however, as when he was brought on in the second half he was not played in his usual midfield position. Instead he was placed in a central defensive role, something he obviously would not have been pleased about.
Spanish outlet Sport has claimed that De Jong has absolutely no interest in heading to Old Trafford this summer and would rather head to Chelsea should he be pushed out of Barcelona for a move to the Premier League.
De Jong was brought on at half-time to play in defence against Inter Miami on Tuesday
De Jong does not want to leave Barcelona but the Catalan giants need to shift him from the wage bill in order to register their new signings – which include Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen – with LaLiga.
Barcelona has made no secret of shopping De Jong around and he has been Manchester United’s top target all summer, with club chiefs Richard Arnold and John Murtough recently spotted in the Spanish city trying to thrash out a deal.
But Sport’s report claims that the player has zero interest in making the move to Manchester, a city he is not a fan of.
He is also said to hold real concerns over how United function, with the player’s view said to be that it is run ‘erratically’ by management.
A third factor working against United is that they cannot offer him Champions League football next season having only managed to secure Europa League football prior to Ten Hag’s arrival.
