Barcelona director admits club have to consider finances when discussing Frenkie de Jong

Barcelona director Mateu Alemany has admitted the club are “conditioned” by financial fair play rules amid rumours they will sell Frenkie de Jong this summer.

De Jong has been strongly linked with Manchester United, with incoming manager Erik ten Hag reportedly wanting a reunion with the former Ajax midfielder at Old Trafford. The 25-year-old cost Barca £65million from Ajax in 2019 and has four years remaining on his Barca contract, but has emerged as a priority target for United.

Ten Hag worked with De Jong between 2017 and 2019 at Ajax and is understood to have contacted his agent , Ali Dursun, to discuss the possibility of a transfer this summer. United are set to lose Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic in the off-season and desperately need new midfielders.

Barcelona have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and their over-spending in the preceding years. The Spanish giants will need to tread carefully in the summer transfer window as they try to bolster Xavi Hernandez’s squad and Alemany has suggested they may need to sell current players to bring in reinforcements.

“We haven’t made any decisions regarding the squad; Frenkie is a quality player, very important. We are conditioned by [financial] fair play, conditioned by the situation inherited by the club,” he said. “We must be patient. We are clear that we are going to reinforce the team. It is necessary and we want to compete for the titles next year.”

De Jong has been a regular for Xavi’s side this season, contributing four goals and five assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. He has been a consistent performer for Xavi, who said recently that he would like to keep the Netherlands international for next season.

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