Jordi Cruyff claims “important” de Jong is “loved” at Barcelona

With Barcelona being in financial disarray and the player himself not happy with his role at the club,

was set to leave Barcelona sooner rather than later. De Jong was linked with the likes of Manchester United over the course of summer but Barcelona director Jordi Cruyff has now come out and said that de Jong is not for sale as he is an “important” player for Xavi.

"Today this is not being talked about. In football there are moments and sometimes they are not defined solely by football issues. The fair play situation. Not everyone understands what it is, there are changes every week, but there are situations and decisions that are not just football things. But time has passed and he has an important role,

" the

chief said.

"The reality is that Frenkie has stayed, he is a loved player, people expect a lot from him because he is very talented and a slightly different player. There was the possibility because good players are always wanted by good teams, it works like that. The reality is that he is here and he is playing an important role.''

Cruyff went on to be more transparent, telling Sport of the club’s plans to sell de Jong in the summer for financial fair play reasons.

"There are market moments and it’s no longer with Frenkie, but with everyone, there is a fair play rule and the consequences of not complying with it are enormous and there are calculations that have nothing to do with what happens on the pitch. It is an accumulation of things and you do some calculations. There is no other way. Fair play forces you to make decisions.''

Cruyff added.

Despite the transfer rumors, De Jong is now more focused on the World Cup as

heads off to the quarter-finals to meet Argentina on Friday.

Follow 

 for the