De Jong: Laporta put me under pressure to leave Barca

Frenkie de Jong says president Joan Laporta pressured him to leave Barcelona but he had no intention of moving.

De Jong was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the last transfer window as Barca attempted to offload players after splashing out on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.

The Dutch midfielder, who was also seen as a target for Paris Saint-Germain, has made it clear that he wants to stay at Camp Nou.

De Jong knew the Catalan giants were eager for him to leave, but he was unaffected 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 that never bothered me."

Former Ajax player De Jong has made just four starts for Barca this season but is hoping to be included in the squad for Sunday's Clasico clash at Real Madrid.

He added: "I knew he [Xavi] would play less minutes at the start of the season. I want to start again. I hope to be against Real Madrid.

"Maybe he [Xavi] has already decided, but normally you don't know until the day of the match.

“Of course we are disappointed after the game against Inter, but we have to change our mindset. We have to show that we are still a good team."