De Jong and his agent explain how talks broke down with Barcelona
Bartomeu's intervention was key to getting the deal over the line
Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona player for the next five years. However, along with hia agent, Ali Dursun, he has explained that the negotiations weren't easy and they even broke down at one point. President Josep Maria Bartomeu's intervention was key.
"Barça were always interested in me and in reality were always my preference. But the talks were difficult and I had the sensation at one point that in reality, it wasn't the moment to go. In the end, there was [Manchester] City and PSG, I didn't have Barça in mind. Until my agent, Ali, called me. Suddenly, they got very serious," De Jong said in an interview with Voetbal.
Dursun explained: "Talks broke down with Barça but it seemed the president himself wanted to come. I said to Frenkie, don't respond to anything from Spain, although later we said we had 45 minutes and it was possible to listen to them. And after exactly 45 minutes, they convinced us. When the Barça directors left, Frenkie and I said that was enough."
De Jong added: "That time Barça came with what I wanted. It had nothing to do with money. When I speak, I speak about football. Barcelona had a plan."
