De Jong not bothered by Barcelona pushing for his departure
The midfielder admitted that Joan Laporta planning to send him away from Barcelona did not bother him.
Frenkie de Jong
revealed that Barcelona president
Joan Laporta
persisted that the midfielder should depart Camp Nou despite him not intending to do so. The Netherlands midfielder attracted the attention of Manchester United in the summer transfer window when the Catalans aimed to send some players away as they acquired players like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde. De Jong, who also caught the attention of Paris Saint-Germain, was clear that he chose to stay at Blaugrana.
Despite knowing that the club wanted him to leave, he did not let it affect his performance.
He told Ziggo Sport:
"I was calm. I decided in May that I wanted to stay. My opinion has never changed during this entire period. I stayed calm.
"But then you know the pressure would start to come...from the newspapers, from the president, from everywhere. But I wanted to stay at Barca so it never bothered me."
The former Ajax player has been included in the starting XI four times this season but he is eager to be part of the team that goes against Real Madrid in the Clasico clash on Sunday.
He added:
"I knew that he [Xavi] would play fewer minutes at the beginning of the season. I want to be a starter again. I hope to be against Real Madrid.
"Maybe he [Xavi] has already decided, but normally we don't know until the day of the game.
"Of course we are disappointed after the game against Inter, but we have to change our state of mind. We have to show that we are still a good team."
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