Frenkie de Jong issues blunt transfer stance amid fresh Man Utd links

Frenkie de Jong hopes to stay at Barcelona for 'many years to come' amid fresh links over a move to Manchester United.

De Jong has been regularly linked with a move to United ever since Erik ten Hag took over as manager in 2022. The club did have a £70million bid accepted by Barcelona for the midfielder in Ten Hag's first summer but a delay over deferred wages forced the Reds to move on and sign Casemiro instead.

Fresh claims earlier this week suggested that Sir Jim Ratcliffe could finally reunite Ten Hag with his former Ajax midfielder as part of a major summer rebuild. Any prospective move for De Jong would involve a number of moving cogs, most of which are out of the player's control. And the Dutchman has clearly been irked by media reports, insisting he hopes to stay at Camp Nou.

“Lately I’ve been getting a bit irritated,” De Jong told reporters on Tuesday, ahead of Barcelona's Champions League clash against Napoli. “I’m angry with what the press writes in general, a lot of things come out that aren’t true. I can’t understand it. They keep saying things that aren’t true. I don’t know why you’re not ashamed to say it. 

“You are talking a lot about my contract, situation, salary… it’s a lot of smoke and lies. You say I’m getting paid like €40m and so on… it’s far from reality. I’m not going to say figures. They have invented a story that is not true. I’m very happy at Barca, it’s the club of my dreams and I hope to continue playing here for many years to come.”

United are keen to strengthen in midfield this summer and so a return for De Jong, who is much admired by Ten Hag, cannot be entirely ruled out. Barcelona might also be forced to offload some of their highest earners, following La Liga's decision to cut their salary cap by around £60m earlier this week.