“Things are said that are not true" - Deco clarifies Frenkie De Jong's statements amid reports of PSG interest in Barcelona star

Barcelona sporting director Deco has clarified that midfielder Frenkie de Jong wishes to remain at the club amid reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

According to SPORT, the Parisians were looking to onboard the central midfielder for €60 million. However, these rumors were refuted by the Netherlands international himself, along with manager Xavi.

De Jong continues to play a key role in the Barcelona midfield, having made 25 appearances across competitions for the Blaugrana this season, bagging one goal.

Speaking about these reports, Deco said (via PSG Talk):

"Frenkie is human. Things are said that are not true… He was upset with things, but what is important is that he is happy to be in the club. We are also happy because he is a very important footballer.”

De Jong joined the Catalan giants in the summer of 2019 for a reported fee of €86 million from Ajax. Since then, the midfielder has made 208 appearances across competitions for Barcelona, bagging 16 goals and 21 assists.

He's won La Liga once but is yet to claim a UEFA Champions League trophy at Camp Nou. Currently, the Catalan outfit are sitting third, eight points behind arch-rivals and league-leaders Real Madrid. Meanwhile, PSG are top of Ligue 1, 13 points clear of second-placed Brest.

---

What Frenkie de Jong said about Barcelona exit rumors

Frenkie de Jong

Frenkie de Jong recently hit out at the Spanish media amid reports linking him with a move away from Barcelona. According to reports, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are also interested in the midfielder's services.

Certain outlets also claimed that the former Ajax star's salary is way off the mark. Amid these circumstances, a disgruntled De Jong said in a recent press conference (via GOAL):

"If I’m honest, I am getting quite irritated lately. I am very angry at what you (media) write or say about me. There are a lot of stories that are simply not true. I simply can’t get my head around it. Some of you write lies all the time and I don’t get how you are not ashamed about it."

He added:

"There’s a lot of talk about my contract situation and my salary. There’s a lot of smoke in there and plenty of lies. You the media are saying that I earn around €40m per year… this is really far from the truth. I am not going to reveal figures, but that’s simply lying."

The Dutch star started Barcelona's first-leg round-of-16 UEFA Champions League match against Napoli (1-1, February 21). The Blaugrana will next host Getafe on Saturday (February 24).