Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has lashed out at Manchester City's Pep Guardiola for personally approaching Frenkie De Jong with the aim to sign him before he agreed to join the Spanish club. The 21-year-old Dutch prospect was on the radar of host of European clubs with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain said to be part of the list.
After agreeing to move to Barcelona in the summer from Ajax for a reported £65m fee, De Jong revealed that both clubs made efforts to convince him. The midfielder also admitted that he was in contact with Pep Guardiola prior to his agreed move to Barca.
"I spoke with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as with (Pep) Guardiola about signing for Manchester City," the midfielder said in an interview with NOS.
"Everyone wants to convince you when they want you.
"I am happy and proud that they wanted me, but I decided to sign for Barcelona."
See you in the summer, Frenkie!#EnjoyDeJong
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 23, 2019
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Despite De Jong opting to join Barcelona over City, Valverde slammed Guardiola's methods.
"Talking to a player who is under contract with another team is something that can't be done," he said as per Spanish publication 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.
Regarding what to expect from the Dutch prospects, Valverde highlighted: "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."
