At this moment in time, Frenkie de Jong is the only holding back a potential transfer to Manchester United.
It’s been made clear a number of times now that Barcelona would prefer him to go to Old Trafford so they can reap the financial benefits of both the transfer fee and the space created by his wages being off their books, and now they’ve told him this directly.
This comes from Mundo Deportivo, who make it clear that the La Liga side have told De Jong ‘he has to go’.
The player ‘has an offer’ from Manchester United, but he is ‘adamant not to leave’, while the two clubs ‘have an agreement in principle’ over the transfer fee which ‘satisfies’ Barcelona.
Getting him off the books would allow them to save €30-35m in ‘fair play’ money, that is incredibly valuable for them to register new players, and that is exactly why the club ‘have officially told Frenkie de Jong today that they would prefer him to leave for Old Trafford’.
While Xavi isn’t overly keen on losing him on the pitch, he understands the club’s economic situation, which is why letting him go is a sacrifice he knows needs to be made.
He will ask for a replacement, of course, but whoever comes in will likely be cheaper and on lower wages than the Dutchman.
This is why Barcelona simply want the player to go to Manchester United.
