Frenkie de Jong had a breakout 2018-19 season with Ajax and helped lead them to a league title and the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. His impressive performances led to interest from FC Barcelona, Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain.
In January of 2019, those three clubs made their best pitch to de Jong to try and convince him to join their squad, and for a while there, it was thought that PSG was in the pole position to sign the Dutch midfielder. However, they lost out to Barcelona who announced the signing on January 23…and now we know why.
During a recent Football Daily (via Le10Sport) podcast (12:26 mark), journalist Guillem Balague revealed what Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said to de Jong to convince him to come to the Camp Nou instead of the Parc des Princes.
“If you are looking for a coach, go with Pep Guardiola. But he will leave City. Who knows who the following coach will be. If you’re looking for money, go to PSG, you’ll be a billionaire. But if you want to enjoy your life for the next 12 to 14 years come to Barcelona.” Continue reading