Xavi insists he ‘really likes’ Frenkie de Jong, but proposed Barcelona could sell Manchester United and Chelsea aim to improve the finances of the club.
Barcelona are playing a dangerous game as they continue to fund the summer purchases despite having over £1bn in debt.
Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha are the latest big signings to arrive at Camp Nou, with deals for Jules Koude of Sevilla and Manchester CityBernardo Silva’s also in the works.
Given the huge expenditures, Barcelona could relieve a number of players before the transfer deadline, with Dutch international De Jong arousing interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.
Xavi says he sees De Jong as a ‘key player’ at Barca but admits that a decision about his future could be taken out of his hands given the club’s financial situation.
“We’ve had private conversations that are very important, but I’m not going to divulge them here,” Xavi said on Sunday after Barcelona’s 1-0 win over La Liga rivals Real Madrid.
“He’s a key player, but then there’s the economic situation and Financial Fair Play.”
De Jong was named on the bench for Barcelona’s final preseason preparation and played in defense after coming on at half time.
When asked if he sent a message to De Jong by playing him as a defender, Xavi replied: ‘I don’t message anyone. I really like him as a player.
“As a central defender he can give us a lot, he can adapt to that position. We want the central defender to distribute the ball and he does that very well.’
Manchester United have been strongly linked with a move to De Jong all summer, but the 25-year-old would rather stay at Barcelona.
Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag worked with De Jong at Ajax and desperately wants to bring him to Old Trafford, having already made deals for Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez.
Chelsea have also expressed interest in signing De Jong as Thomas Tuchel looks to bolster his midfield options and improve on last season’s third-place finish in the Premier League.
Xavi, meanwhile, was pleased with Barcelona’s performance against Real Madrid, telling reporters: “There are no friendlies here, there are opportunities, and more against Madrid.
“We want to win, compete, and we could have killed the game, but I’ve seen a lot of positive things.
“We can still improve, although we are still in preparation in terms of physical level. I’m more than happy with the feeling after the win.’
On the contributions of his new signings, Xavi added: “Raphinha made the difference, he is dynamic and he can play on both wings.
‘Robert’ [Lewandowski] is a world class star, he adapted very quickly. I’m happy, the new players will be competing up front and everyone will have to wake up soon.”
More to follow…
