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The Unusual Way Neymar Helped Frenkie de Jong To Choose Barcelona Over PSG

The Unusual Way Neymar Helped Frenkie de Jong To Choose Barcelona Over PSG

He opted to join Barcelona instead of Paris Saint-Germain.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Neymar inadvertently convinced Frenkie de Jong to choose Barcelona over Paris Saint-Germain.

The French champions were heavily linked with Frenkie de Jong, but they failed in their pursuit with Barcelona securing his services in a transfer worth £65 million.

He's signed a five-year deal at the Camp Nou, having rejected PSG's advances.

How did Barcelona successfully lure de Jong to Spain?

Well, they had a little help from their former player, Neymar.

According to reports from Spanish outlet AS, Barcelona showed de Jong Neymar's Whatsapp messages asking to return to the club in order to persuade the 23-year-old to pick Barcelona ahead of PSG.

Shrewd.

As explained by AS, "De Jong was shown messages from Neymar to people in the Blaugrana club in which the Brazilian complained about the low competitiveness of the league, the hardness of the rivals or of the weather and in those who recognized that he had made a mistake by leaving Barcelona.

"Given that information, De Jong was very clear and signed for Barca for a money that almost certainly prevents Neymar from returning."

Image: PA
Image: PA

PSG weren't the only team keeping an eye on the Dutch star. Manchester City were also in the hunt and Ernesto Valverde appeared to take a swipe at Pep Guardiola.

"Talking to a player who is under contract with another team is something that can't be done," he said via Marca.

"You can't talk to a player who is under contract and that's something that isn't in my personal code but suffice to say, everyone has their own way of acting.

"Everything depends on the performance that De Jong gives in the future and he'll need to adapt despite coming in from a club with a similar philosophy to us at Barcelona.

"He's young and the club has to look at that but we are incorporating players who are enriching the game and can be important for us."

How will de Jong fare at Barcelona? Let us know what you think.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Paris Saint-Germain, Football, Pep Guardiola, Barcelona, Neymar, Ajax