Why did Frenkie de Jong turn down PSG in 2019? Here’s the story of a rapid U-turn that stunned the French club.
In January 2019, Frenkie de Jong was on the verge of signing for Paris Saint-Germain. The Ajax midfielder had even called PSG’s board around 7 p.m. one evening to inform them of his decision to join. But just a few hours later, everything changed—according to Radio Marca.
Ramon Planes, then technical director of Barcelona, recently revealed that on that very day, Éric Abidal asked the player to “wait just half a day.” Immediately, a Barça delegation flew to Amsterdam. Their pitch focused on club identity, the shared Ajax DNA, and the chance to play alongside Lionel Messi. It worked.
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Barcelona managed to leapfrog PSG and reportedly Manchester City, thanks in part to a higher salary offer. The result? De Jong signed with Barça for around €75M (approx. £63M).
The lightning turnaround remains one of PSG’s most painful transfer blows in recent memory.
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