Xavi has explained why Erik ten Hag wants Frenkie de Jong at Manchester United

Theresa May infamously once told a nurse who hadn’t had a pay rise for eight years that 'there is no magic money tree'. The former Prime Minister was actually wrong because such a tree has been found at the Camp Nou, which is home to Barcelona.

It was claimed last year that Barcelona are €1.3 billion in debt and club president Joan Laporta even declared the club 'clinically dead' following his election after the previous regime condemned it to financial ruin. Lionel Messi was forced to leave Barcelona last summer due to their economic situation and incomings like Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero were signed on free transfers.

Barcelona played in the Europa League last season and it seemed it would take years for the club to return to the top of the table, considering their financial dire straits. But they've surprised the industry this summer by coming out swinging in the market.

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The Catalan giants have signed Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds for a combined fee of almost £100m, while Laporta has openly talked about signing Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

Barcelona are acting like a club in a strong financial position when that couldn't be further from the truth. That magic money tree is clearly bearing fruit, but it's not generating enough, as they need to sell Frenkie de Jong to raise some much-needed capital.

De Jong is considered an expendable asset at Barcelona and they desperately need the money from his sale, which is good news for Manchester United, who have made the player their top target. The bad news is, United agreed a deal in principle to sign De Jong weeks