Manchester United give up their pursuit of €75 million-rated Barcelona captain

Manchester United have held a strong interest in Barcelona midfield mainstay Frenkie de Jong for quite some time now. The Red Devils were even believed to have an agreement in place with Barça for the Dutchman, but the 26-year-old refused to leave the club.

Despite being rejected by the Netherlands star, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag continued to pursue his former AFC Ajax ward’s signing and is understood to have made attempts for his signing not very long ago, only to be rejected again.

And now, Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Man United have finally given up their pursuit of de Jong and accepted defeat in their attempts to pry him away from Barcelona.

This development comes only days after Barça confirmed their four captains for the 2023/24 campaign, with de Jong among those set to don the armband.

Indeed, the 26-year-old midfield superstar, whose current market value stands at €75 million, has been named the fourth captain of the club behind Sergi Roberto, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Ronald Araujo.

This move put an end to the speculations that Barcelona could consider selling de Jong if a big offer were to come along this summer in order to get out of financial troubles.

As such, Manchester United have now decided to give up on their ‘obsession’ to try and sign de Jong from Barcelona.

Having been deemed transferable by the club last summer to being named the captain this year, the 26-year-old has come a long way. He was one of the best players on the pitch for Xavi’s Barça last season and is deserving of the captaincy.

De Jong’s contract with Barcelona runs until the summer of 2026 and comes with a release clause worth €400 million. And his future at the club appears to be secure for a long time.

Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.