Dream Man Utd signing’s ‘terrible relationship’ with his club surfaces amid desire for sale

Long-term Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong reportedly has a ‘terrible relationship’ with Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who has ‘always wanted to sell him’.

De Jong was the main objective of Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag when he arrived at Old Trafford two years ago. They had reached the Champions League semi-final together with Ajax, with the midfielder a vital cog in that side.

United lodged a bid to sign him from Barcelona, but De Jong himself did not want to leave.

At various points since then, United have been interested, but the midfielder has largely remained keen to stay with Barca, who he has now played for on 213 occasions.

This summer, he was on the Red Devils’ radar amid their struggled to finalise a deal for Manuel Ugarte.

The conditions of a deal with Paris Saint-Germain seemed to keep changing, with fees and whether or not the deal could be a loan or a permanent transfer seeming problematic.

It was suggested that United wanted to open talks over a move for De Jong at the back end of the summer window.

But it’s said there was a ‘clear tendency’ for him to remain with Barcelona , so the move never had legs. Ugarte was the signed, meaning the Manchester outfit did not need to make attempts for De Jong.

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De Jong has ‘terrible relationship’ at Barcelona

It was not made clear whether it was the midfielder, the club, or both, who had the desire for him to stay.

However, a fresh report states that he has a ‘terrible relationship’ with president Laporta, which could have led to his desire to sell the midfielder.

Indeed, Spanish outlet Sport states De Jong feels Laporta has ‘never been kind to him’ because he was signed by the former president, and because he ‘doesn’t have a friendly agent’.

As such, Laporta has ‘always wanted to sell him’.

That means that Barca could have potentially said yes to United attempts to sign De Jong this summer if they were to have been made.

However, the midfielder himself would have turned them away.

De Jong won’t leave Barca

It’s said that as a result of his bad relationship with Laporta, De Jong has ‘closed the door’ with the Barcelona boardroom.

What’s more, he was unwilling to listen to the club’s requests for him to consider leaving in the summer.

He has maintained his position of being happy at Barcelona, and while it might seem confusing, that does not change because of a spat with Laporta, and in fact things are worsened for the president as a result.

De Jong is seemingly unmoved by the poor relationship, as long as he can continue to play for the club he is so fond of.

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