Barcelona president Joan Laporta is confident that Frenkie de Jong is 'delighted' at the club and does not want to leave despite past links with a move to
Manchester United . The Spanish club have been stuck in a financial rut, needing to cut their wage bill in order to meet the £174.8m salary cap placed on them by La Liga. This will likely require the sale of playing staff in the summer, as their actual wage bill has been budgeted at well over double that amount. One of those linked with an exit to ease the problem has been De Jong . It was suggested he would be a top target for Erik ten Hag when the coach arrived at Old Trafford in 2022, and circumstance means that two years later a reunion for the former Ajax duo is once again speculated upon. However in what is a major blow to that train of thought, Laporta is adamant that his midfielder is settled in
Catalonia, and therefore a move to Manchester United would be out of the equation. "The last thing he would want would be to leave
Barcelona. He has told me more than once, that he is delighted here," the 61-year-old confirmed to Mundo Deportivo . "We have margin. We are delighted with him. I'm not worried about anyone and if someone wants to leave, we can't go against a player's will. READ MORE: Bruno Fernandes claims he might change position for Manchester United in the future READ MORE: Former Manchester United goalkeeper Matej Kovar drops hint on buy-back clause in contract "But I think everyone wants to stay and we want everyone we have to stay. We don't want any of them to leave, because no team in history has been a flash in the pan. "The teams that have won have had a period of consolidation and maturation. This team is having it with very young people and will pass us by with the previous stage. We have players who will last many years, all of these we are talking about. We have to prioritise making the entire team powerful." This message falls in line with his colleague, Barca's sporting director Deco, who in February said the Dutchman would be staying put . "Nothing will happen to them," he said about De Jong and team-mate Ronald Araujo. "They are important players for now and for the future. They have earned the right to be here and the respect of the fans and everyone. We know where we want to go and we are counting on them." Try MUFC Pro NOW for free Subscribe to our brilliant app for the best way to enjoy the M.E.N's unrivalled Manchester United coverage. No adverts, pop-ups or distractions - just our brilliant content presented in the best way possible. Comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the Reds, with agenda-setting
BREAKING news and insight from Samuel Luckhurst and our authoritative team of United writers Exclusive content for subscribers New interactive elements including (coming soon) quizzes to test your United knowledge. Try MUFC Pro for a front-row seat to the action at absolutely no cost for the first month. You can get started by downloading our app here on
iPhone , or here on
Android . If you a lready have our app, click on the ''MUFC Pro',' Subscribe' or ' Remove ads' links. *Free trial auto renews at £19.99 annually unless cancelled. T&C’s apply. Ad-free indicates that you will not be shown standard display ad formats with the articles that you read, selected articles may contain commercial messages/affiliate links where contractually required.