Barcelona played Frenkie de Jong out of position after leaving him out of their starting line-up for their opening pre-season friendly.
The move came just days after the Dutchman – who has been the subject of prolonged and sustained transfer interest from Manchester United – slammed the Catalan club on social media by liking a post that was critical of their treatment of him throughout the summer.
United have agreed an initial transfer fee for De Jong of £56.2million and the club will not give up on a deal despite the transfer saga now spanning out over two months. The English club are confident that the player is open to moving to Old Trafford – despite reports from the Spanish press – with the deal being held up due to monies over to him.
This weekend, the player liked a post on Instagram from a Barcelona fan who wrote: "I dislike the way we have handled Frenkie's situation." The Dutch international is one of the highest earners at the Camp Nou and, additionally, he is also owed a series of payments through amortizations and other clauses that are part of his deal.
De Jong was left out of Barca’s starting line-up in Tuesday’s friendly against Inter Miami in Florida. The club’s new signing Franck Kessie played in a holding midfield role alongside teenagers Nico Gonzalez and Pedri. While the Dutchman came on at the break, he was slotted into a central defensive role. Fellow midfielders Gavi, Sergio Busquets and Pablo Torre were those selected in the midfield trio.
Tellingly, that meant that six players were preferred to De Jong in his strongest position as part of a midfield three. It is the latest indication that Barca are privately open to De Jong’s departure despite their public stance that he is not for sale.
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Reports had claimed the player has already cleared out his locker at Barca with a move to Old Trafford appearing to be edging closer. New United boss Erik ten Hag coached De Jong at Ajax and held a phone call to convince the player that he should join his project at Old Trafford.
De Jong, 25, was informed that he would be the 'conductor of the orchestra' and would be an undisputed starter under Ten Hag – a similar role to the one he enjoyed so much in Amsterdam. Barca are keen to process sales after completing the signings of quarter Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, with more new arrivals set to follow.
