Man Utd Frenkie de Jong transfer boost as Xavi admits Barcelona may have no choice but to sell star
BARCELONA manager Xavi has admitted the club could be forced to sell Frenkie de Jong due to their financial crisis.
The 25-year-old Dutchman has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, with Chelsea also monitoring his situation.
De Jong’s pay dispute has held up a move away from the Nou Camp as the Catalan giants still owe the player £24million in unpaid wages.
And Xavi has now revealed that Barcelona may have to offload their £65m man because of the huge economic debts they find themselves in.
Speaking about De Jong after a 1-0 friendly win over Real Madrid, he said: “We’ve had private conversations that are very important, that I will not reveal here.
“He’s a key player, but then there’s the economic situation and Financial Fair Play.”
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The Barcelona boss was then asked whether he was sending a message to De Jong by playing him at centre-back in the win over Real Madrid.
To which he responded: “I am not sending messages to anyone. I like him a lot as a player.
“Playing as a centre-back, he can give us a lot, he can adapt to that position.
“We want that the centre-back distributes the ball and he does it very well.”
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Despite their critical financial issues, Barcelona have still somehow managed to sign a host of players this summer.
The LaLiga side have acquired Raphinha from Leeds for £55m and Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich for £42.5m.
They have also reached agreements for free agents Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen.