Barcelona have hit back at the suggestion from Frenkie de Jong that the club's board leaked his contract details this summer.
De Jong's wage details emerged amid reports the player's contract was not valid and the midfielder last week made his displeasure at this course of events known – pointing the finger at the club's board.
Enric Masip, an adviser to the Catalan club's president Joan Laporta and a member of Barca's sporting committee, has now come out to reject the claims from De Jong. He wrote on Twitter: "I can say with knowledge of the facts that the person from the club who has most defended the continuity and of course the non-sale of Frenkie de Jong was, he has a first and last name, Joan Laporta. A sale was never considered by the club, NEVER, even with the delicate situation of the club."
Manchester United had an initial transfer fee agreed with Barca valued at £56.2million this summer but the deal did not go through.
It was a summer-long transfer saga that dominated headlines in England and Spain for months. De Jong subsequently criticised a "campaign with lots of lies", which appeared to be mainly directed at his current employers, who had agreed to sell him despite the player having no intentions of leaving the Camp Nou.
There had been various reports that the central midfielder was the club's highest-earning player and additionally, was owed up to €17m in back payments through deferrals and amortisations. The details of his economic agreement with the club were published in Spanish and Catalan media outlets.
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Speaking to De Telegraaf last week, De Jong lamented: "One day a paper published details from my contract. I didn't leak it and only one other party knew about this, so it had to be the club who did this. Suddenly there was a letter in which the question was asked whether my contract was still valid because the previous president made the contract.
"I found it very annoying that the club did this, but I had no further influence on things. I blame these people [those at Barca who wanted him out], but I have nothing to do with them. Yes, they are Barca for me because they lead the club. But I don't see them when I'm at the club. I have nothing to do with them in my daily life."
In what was seen as an astonishing attack on the club's board, De Jong made his feelings clear on the matter – while also insisting that he had no intentions of leaving the club. Barca board member Masip, who is close to president Laporta, has now rebuffed those claims.
