Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong gave further insight into his chances of joining Premier League giants Manchester United on Sunday night.
Of course, the Dutch international's name De Jong was in the headlines during last summer's transfer window.
It comes as the 25-year-old is tipped to leave the Camp Nou, amid financial difficulties Barcelona and particular interest in his service from the aforementioned Manchester United.
In the end, De Jong eventually stayed, after repeatedly making clear his desire for long-term success in Catalonia.
Frenkie de Jong during the La Liga football match between Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona on December 21, 2021 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain - Photo:
However, despite it all, speculation surrounding the former Ajax player's possible move to Old Trafford at the end of the campaign continues to circulate in the media. Speaking in a post-match interview after starring in Barca's final win over Real Madrid on Sunday, De Jong was, once again, drawn about his future.
Asked directly if he could finally reconnect with Erik ten Hag in Manchester this summer, the versatile midfielder said he remains "very happy" in Spain:
"No, I don't think so. Of course you never know. But I'm very happy in Barcelona!
"You're not going to join Manchester United this summer, are you?" @ZiggoSport asked.
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Barcelona players celebrate Franck Kessie's winning goal against Real Madrid Barcelona aim to win their 27th La Liga title
Franck Kessie scored a beautiful late goal to help Barcelona beat Real Madrid to a 12 point lead in La Liga.
Real took the lead in El Clasico thanks to attacking play when Vinicius Jr's pass was headed home by Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo.
Barca equalized just before half-time thanks to Sergi Roberto's shot after Raphinha's effort was thwarted.
Marco Asensio saw a late Real goal ruled out for offside, before Kessie scored the winner in stoppage time.
Both teams have 12 matches to play and Barca are in a dominant position as they look to win the title for the first time since 2018-19. Roberto says:
“You can never say [the title] is over, but we're 12 points ahead now, so it's hard for them.
"It's up to us and that's the most important thing. I'm happy to have helped the team score. The last game was fantastic and I'm happy when Franck scored.
"The game changed when we thought Asensio scored, but he was offside and we scored. It's even better when you win with a late goal and it's great to do that in front of our fans."
Barcelona's Sergi Roberto equalizes against Real Madrid at Camp Nou
Sergi Roberto equalized for Barcelona at Camp Nou with his fourth La Liga goal of the season
Defending champions Spain, Real entered the game after beating Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday to win 6-2 on aggregate and advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Karim Benzema, who scored against the Reds, made the first shot of the game in the first minute but his shot from just outside the box was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
But the visitors were then indebted to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who made excellent saves to deny Robert Lewandowski's 25-yard effort and Raphinha's header.
Real took the lead in the ninth minute but 26-time Spanish champions Barcelona played better in the first half.
Andreas Christensen could not take two chances and Raphinha was cut down by Courtois before Roberto equalized in the 45th minute. Real Madrid striker Vinicius Jr pats Ronald Araujo's shoulder after the Barcelona defender's goal
Ronald Araujo scores his first own goal in an El Clasico match in La Liga in the 21st century
Lewandowski, La Liga's top scorer with 15 goals, had a deflected shot just before Real substitute Rodrygo hit the back of the net on his first attempt.
Raphinha almost won in the 74th minute but was brilliantly saved by Courtois while Lewandowski also hit the net.
Asensio had only been on the field for six minutes when the ball went into the net of Real at the last minute, but the goal was ruled out after a narrow offside decision by the video assistant referee.
Substitute Kessie was then Barcelona's hero in the 92nd minute, ending the game after Alejandro Balde's fine cross.
Barcelona coach Xavi said:
"The tournament wasn't decided but of course it was a big win. "I think we deserved to win and we played better than Real Madrid, we created more chances."
Barcelona will next play on April 1 with an away game in Elche before Real Madrid host Real Valladolid the next day.
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