Barcelona president reveals Frenkie de Jong's preference on summer transfer

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted midfielder Frenkie de Jong has no interest in leaving the club ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

De Jong has been an important player for Barca ever since his €75m transfer from Ajax in 2019. But his significant value has always made him a saleable asset amid the club's major financial problems and Barca tried to flog the Dutchman to Manchester United almost two years ago.

With the Catalans still not out of the woods financially, De Jong's future - and those of several others including Ronald Araujo and Pedri - has remained uncertain, although the player himself has always maintained he wants to stay and Laporta has confirmed that hasn't changed.

"He is delighted [at Barcelona]. The last thing he would want would be to leave Barcelona. He has told me more than once, that he is delighted here," the president told Mundo Deportivo.

"We have [room for a new contract]. We are delighted with him," Laporta added.

"I'm not worried about anyone and if someone wants to leave, we can't go against a player's will. But I think everyone wants to stay and we want everyone we have to stay."

Manchester United retained their interest in De Jong, who came to prominence at Ajax under Erik ten Hag, last summer, while Bayern Munich also enquired at that time. He has been routinely linked with Paris Saint-Germain, with Chelsea rumours also resurfacing more recently.

De Jong's contract at Barcelona, signed in the autumn of 2020, runs until the end of the 2025/26 season. After a fee had been agreed between the clubs, what ultimately derailed a proposed transfer to Manchester United in the summer of 2022 following Ten Hag's arrival was a lack of clarity over who would pay the player an outstanding sum owed to him in deferred Barca wages.

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