Although Frenkie de Jong is a player Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in, according to Xavi, Barcelona should trade the player to boost the team’s budget.
Barcelona is playing a risky game by continuing to spend lavishly on summer acquisitions while having more than £1 billion in debt.
The Nou Camp has just welcomed Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, with deals for Jules Kounde of Sevilla and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City also pending.
Given their spending binge, Barcelona may try to offload a few players before the transfer deadline. Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in Dutch international De Jong.
Although De Jong is a “essential player” for Barcelona, Xavi acknowledges that given the club’s financial position, a decision about his future may be made without his input.
After Barcelona’s 1-0 victory over La Liga opponent Real Madrid on Sunday, Xavi remarked, “We’ve had private chats that are very important, things I will not share here.”
He’s an important player, but there’s also Financial Fair Play and the state of the economy.
De Jong played defense after being substituted at halftime in Barcelona’s most recent preseason match.
When asked if playing De Jong as a defender was a message to him, Xavi said, “I am not giving messages to anyone. I really enjoy him as a player.
He can contribute greatly to our team while playing as a center back because of his versatility. We want the center back to pass the ball around, and he does it expertly.
De Jong, 25, has been linked to Manchester United throughout the summer, but the Barcelona player would rather stay put.
Erik ten Hag, the manager of the Red Devils, has worked with De Jong at Ajax and is eager to get him to Old Trafford after securing contracts for Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia, and Lisandro Martinez.
As Thomas Tuchel aims to improve upon his third-place Premier League performance from the previous year, Chelsea has also shown interest in signing De Jong.
The performance of Barcelona against Real Madrid, on the other hand, impressed Xavi, who told reporters: “Here there are no friendlies, there are possibilities, and even more so against Madrid.”
“We want to compete and win, and we could have killed the game off, but I saw a lot of good stuff,” said the player.
‘We can improve, although in terms of our physical level we’re still in pre-season. I am more than happy with the feelings after the win.’
On the contributions of his new signings, Xavi added: ‘Raphinha made the difference, he is dynamic and he can play on both wings.
‘Robert [Lewandowski] is a world-class star, he adapted very quickly. I’m happy, the new players will give competition up front and everyone will have to wake up quickly.’