Barcelona coach Xavi insists there was no doubt Frenkie de Jong would stay at the club amid Manchester United's interest in the summer.
United agreed an €85million fee with Barcelona to sign De Jong but the midfielder publicly expressed his preference to stay in Catalonia and his wage deferral proved to be an insurmountable stumbling block. After the 4-0 drubbing by Brentford on August 13, United ended their pursuit of De Jong and used the funds set aside for the Dutchman to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid for £60m rising to £70m.
De Jong, 25, has started in 15 of Barcelona's 21 La Liga games this season and Xavi has recently settled on a line-up that consists of four midfielders, with Gavi pushed further forward to offset the absence of the injured Ousmane Dembele.
