Barcelona president Joan Laporta has ruled out a return to the club for Lionel Messi and Neymar while commenting on the future of Frenkie de Jong.
Speaking to Catalan outlet L’Esportiu (h/t Barca Universal), Barcelona president Joan Laporta has shed light on the situation of midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who is being linked with an exit in the summer transfer window.
De Jong has been at Barcelona for almost three years now but his time at Camp Nou could be coming to an end as clubs like Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain circle to sign him up in the summer. The 25-year-old has been a permanent fixture in the side for almost the entirety of his stint at Camp Nou, but the club’s financial situation is such that they could be forced into cashing in on one of their top assets.
Acknowledging the situation, Laporta insisted that de Jong is a quality player for whom Barcelona have received offers, although he added that Barcelona wish to keep hold of him. “Frenkie is a quality player. He knows our system. He is however, a desirable player in the market. We have received offers for him. But we think that he should continue at Barcelona,” he said.
At the same time, however, Laporta also touched upon the club’s financial situation, claiming that it could dictate the futures of de Jong and other players come summer. “We have players that recently renewed their contracts. They are the present and future of Barcelona. As for the rest, we have high-quality players, but they could receive offers. In this case, we have to think about the financial fair play issue,” he added.
Barça president Laporta to @lesportiucat: "Frenkie de Jong? Yes, we have received proposals. But he has great quality, we think he should continue at Barça" ?? #FCB
"Selling players? Right now, everything is open. In this case will depend a lot on the issue of Fair Play". #MUFC pic.twitter.com/dcJWr9kxfW
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 25, 2022
During the interview, the Barcelona president also spoke about two former Barcelona players, Lionel Messi and Neymar, who are currently teammates at Paris Saint-Germain. Messi joined Neymar at the Ligue 1 outfit last summer after the Catalans failed to renew his contract and the pair helped PSG reclaim the French league title.
However, there have been reports that Les Parisiens are contemplating the sale of Neymar this summer, while Messi has been linked with a return to Camp Nou ever since he left the club. But, Laporta insisted that re-signing the two club icons would be beyond the club’s means currently and would be an impractical move.
When asked if Barcelona wished to re-sign Neymar and Messi, he replied: “Only if they came on free transfers. The truth is that we are in no position to make big money moves for these players. They have the ability, but it would make no sense.”