'We preferred to keep his talents': Laporta makes surprising De Jong statement

"We had big offers from Premier League clubs for Frenkie De Jong, but we preferred to keep the talent in him," Joan Laporta has said.

The fans are unlikely to buy these words, though.

During the summer, all the reliable sources said that Barcelona wanted to sell De Jong and even had an agreement in place with Manchester United. However, Frenkie refused to leave.

The Dutchman's high salary was named as one of the main reasons why Barca wanted to part ways with him. Now, there are rumours regarding a possible salary cut.