Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has confirmed that he “decided” to stay at the Camp Nou and snub interest from other clubs all the way back in May.

Manchester United were linked with a move for the Dutch international at the time, and they subsequently agreed a fee for the player. However, de Jong insists he never had any intention of making the switch to the Red Devils:

“I had already decided in May that I wanted to stay. So I was very calm myself. I now feel welcome at the club. Nothing has ever changed with my teammates.”

Even up until deadline day at the start of this month, there was speculation that United and Chelsea could sign de Jong, but it is now clear that those stories were inaccurate.

United did seemingly try to change the midfielder’s mind, and they waited weeks and weeks before giving up chasing the 25-year-old’s signature.

It led to a late scramble to secure the services of players like Real Madrid’s Casemiro and Ajax’s Antony. It really paints a rather grim picture of the work done by United’s recruitment team this summer.