Frenkie de Jong has revealed he wanted to join Arsenal as a stepping stone to Barcelona before joining Spanish giants
FRENKIE DE JONG revealed he planned to join Arsenal as a stepping stone to Barcelona before making his dream move to the Nou Camp.
The 26-year-old was unveiled by the La Liga champions in 2019 having agreed a £65million deal from Ajax.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City were understood to be battling for the midfielder's signature but De Jong settled on Spain.
Manchester United are also long-term admirers and have regularly been linked with a move to sign him from Barca - but nothing has come of that just yet.
The youngster rose to prominence during Ajax's heroic Champions League run last season and he revealed he was inspired by his countryman Marc Overmars.
The 50-year-old, who is now the director of football at Belgian side Royal Antwerp, played for the Dutch side before earning moves to Arsenal and then Barcelona, a career trajectory de Jong admits he thought he would follow.
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De Jong told Voetbal International: "In my mind, I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, call it the Marc Overmars route.
"But then again, if you can go directly to Barcelona, then you are right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream."
De Jong put pen to paper on a five-year contract in January, 2019 but it was his father who almost stole the show when he was unveiled.