Midfielder Frenkie de Jong says he was not bothered that president Joan Laporta wanted him to leave Barcelona.
Frenkie de Jong says president Joan Laporta put him under pressure to leave Barcelona but he had no intention of moving.
De Jong was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United during the last transfer window as Barca attempted to offload the player after missing out on the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.
The Dutch midfielder, who was also rumored to be a target for Paris Saint-Germain, has made it clear he wants to stay at Camp Nou.
De Jong knew the Catalan giants wanted him to leave, but he was not swayed by so much talk about his future.
He told Ziggo Sport: “I was calm. I decided in May that I wanted to stay. My opinion never changed during this whole period. I stayed calm.
“But then you know the pressure would start coming…from the newspapers, from the president, from everywhere. But I wanted to stay at Barca, so it never bothered me.”
Former Ajax man De Jong has made just four starts for Barca this season but hopes to be involved in Sunday’s Clasico clash with Real Madrid.
He added: “I knew [Xavi] was going to play less minutes at the start of the season. I want to be a starter again. I hope to be against Real Madrid.
“Maybe Xavi has already made up his mind, but normally we don’t know until the day of the match.
“Of course we are disappointed after the Inter game, but we have to change our mindset. We have to show that we are still a good team.”