Manchester United aren’t the only big club in the Champions League to have been on the wrong end of a shock result this week.
Before Erik ten Hag’s men lost in Copenhagen, in a match which saw the Red Devils be incredibly unlucky, Barcelona had lost to Shakhtar.
There’s something of a post-mortem in the Catalan media, and also concern about their third place in La Liga, which would be fourth if Atletico Madrid win their game in hand.
For Mundo Deportivo, and specifically journalist Santo Nolla, there’s a big solution which will solve everything for Barcelona… and that’s Frenkie De Jong.
Nolla highlights how Barca tried to force him out of the club to ‘raise cash’. The Dutchman was ‘pressured’ to sign for Manchester United, with Ten Hag waiting with open arms.
The Catalan media were quite nasty at times towards De Jong, with it feeling like there was a plan to make his life misery so he realised he had to move for the greater good.
To his credit, the midfielder stood by what he wanted, and threats of ostracism went nowhere. As it stands, according to Nolla, he’s ‘now the saviour’ for Barca’s midfield and they can’t wait to get him back from injury.
A layoff due to an ankle sprain has reminded everyone at the Blaugrana how much they need De Jong.
He’ll provide ‘a return to the best version of Barca’, and to think, many of those saying such wanted him so badly to sign for Manchester United.
