Frenkie de Jong shuts down latest Manchester United rumours

Frenkie de Jong has said that he sees himself at Barcelona "for a long time" despite the ongoing speculation surrounding a possible move away from the Catalan outfit.

The Netherlands international was heavily linked with a switch to Manchester United during the summer transfer window, with the Red Devils spending much of the market chasing his signature.

However, De Jong insisted on a number of occasions that he was not interested in leaving Camp Nou.

There are again rumours surrounding the midfielder, with Man United allegedly preparing to reignite their interest in 2023.

A recent report claimed that De Jong had told Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag that he would be interested in making the move to Old Trafford next year.

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However, De Jong recently reiterated that he wants to stay at Barcelona while speaking on the Amazon Prime Video docuseries called 'FC Barcelona: A new Era'.

"I see myself playing here for a long time. I don't care for rumours about whether I'm going to another club or staying here. We haven't spoken about it and no one from the club has told me anything. I don't think it will happen," said De Jong.

The midfielder found it difficult to secure starts in the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign, but he has managed to work his way into the side over the last few weeks.

De Jong has made 17 appearances for Xavi's side during the 2022-23 campaign, contributing two goals and one assist in the process.

The midfielder, who represented Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup, has played the full 90 minutes in five of his side's last six matches in Spain's top flight.

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Barcelona were allegedly keen to move De Jong on over the summer to ease their financial problems, but the club's sporting director Jordi Cruyff recently said that the window to sell the midfielder had passed.

"Today this is not being talked about. In football there are moments and sometimes they are not defined solely by football issues," Cruyff told Sport.

"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 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.

"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."

De Jong has made 157 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions since arriving from Ajax in July 2019, contributing 15 goals and 19 assists in the process.