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Barcelona Manager Ernesto Valverde Takes Swipe At Pep Guardiola Over Frenkie de Jong Transfer

Barcelona Manager Ernesto Valverde Takes Swipe At Pep Guardiola Over Frenkie de Jong Transfer

Barcelona beat both City and PSG to the signing of de Jong.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Ernesto Valverde's hit out at Pep Guardiola regarding Barcelona's January signing of Frenkie de Jong.

The Frenkie de Jong transfer saga has finally been resolved after Barcelona secured his services for a reported £65 million, signing him on a five-year contract.

Barcelona fended off fierce competition from some of the biggest teams in Europe. We're talking Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, who were desperate to sign the promising midfielder.

And Ernesto Valverde mentioned Manchester City when discussing his latest recruit.

Image: PA
Image: PA

He was frustrated that Pep Guardiola made a personal approach for the 21-year-old starlet.

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

Valverde clearly not impressed with Guardiola's attempt at trying to sign de Jong whilst contracted by Ajax.

The Dutch international, meanwhile, has revealed why he opted to join the Camp Nou outfit.

"(PSG) were one of the best options. The club, the team, the coach impressed me," he said.

"They have me the chance to play consistency and Ligue 1 could be an advantage, there is still time to grow. I went to Manchester and Paris and I spoke to Tuchel and Guardiola.

"My choice is not a decision against those clubs but in favour of Barcelona. The challenge is huge. Regarding France I didn't have the feeling that I wanted to play there for 10 years."

How will de Jong fare at Barcelona, next season?

Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Pep Guardiola, Barcelona, Ajax, Ernesto Valverde