Barcelona have rejected the Bundesliga champions’ attempt to sign Dutch defender Frenkie De Jong on a season-long loan with an option to buy.

The deal is similar to the one that took Brazilian Midfielder Philippe Coutinho to Allianz Arena in 2019. Bayern had hoped that with the presence of Matthijs de Ligt, whom he played with at Ajax, and their profile as one of the favourites for the UEFA Champions League, De Jong would be convinced to join the team.

However, Barcelona have chosen not to take that route despite Bayern’s intent to pay De Jong’s salary for the duration of the loan deal.

De Jong has had two teams interested in signing him this summer; the two clubs include Manchester United and Chelsea. The former has been insistent on signing the Dutch midfielder since the hiring of Erik Ten Hag, but the player has preferred to stay back at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona wants to offload him to loosen their financial capacity, but the player has chosen not to move.

Manchester United’s Ten Hag is still very interested in bringing the player into Old Trafford despite signing Brazilian midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid earlier last week.

Meanwhile, Barcelona and Manchester City will play a friendly game on Wednesday at Camp Nou in honour of Former Barcelona goalkeeper and coach Juan Carlos Unzué who was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) two years ago.

City manager Pep Guardiola said that the game is a good time to recover while being grateful to the Spaniards for allowing Manchester City to honour his former assistant.

“Barcelona opened their doors to make a game for an important person in our lives – he was a keeper for Spain and Barcelona and my assistant there, who is having an incredibly difficult time – and they invited us to raise money for a battle that he has for his disease.” Guardiola said.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu