Barça coach Valverde explains why he did not call Ajax's De Jong
Tuchel and Guardiola were both in touch with the Dutch midfielder
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has justified his decision not to directly intervene in the club's signing of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax.
Valverde's approach was different to the one adopted by Paris Saint-Germain's Thomas Tuchel and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, who both tried to persuade the Dutch international to sign for their clubs.
The Barça coach said that "first of all, you can't speak with a player who has a contract with another club. It's not in my code [to do so]. I won't do it. If a player decides [to make that public], that's up to him. I have nothing to say on it. The club have acted in a matter which I respect and I have nothing to say."
As for the importance De Jong could have in Barça's future, the manager was careful not to overhype things and said that "it all depends on his performances. He's a player the club have signed with the perspective of time. He will need to adapt, even though he's coming from a club in Ajax with similar methods to Barca."
Valverde feels Barça made such a big effort to sign the youngster because they "have to be constantly enriching the current team and signing players that can be key in the future. We hope that he's here for a long time and becomes an important player."
