Arsenal and Man City target Frenkie De Jong hints he regrets joining Barcelona instead of going to the Premier League
ARSENAL and Manchester City target Frenkie De Jong may be regretting joining Barcelona after admitting that the Premier League is the strongest in the world.
The 22-year-old was unveiled by the La Liga champions this summer having agreed a £65million deal from Ajax earlier this year.
The Dutch midfielder revealed that he had planned to follow Marc Overmars in playing for Arsenal after leaving Ajax, before then joining Barcelona.
While he was advised by Holland boss Ronald Koeman to join Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola's side refused to bow to his £275,000-a-week demands.
De Jong has since settled well into life at the Nou Camp, but he admitted in an interview with that the Premier League is superior to La Liga.
He said: “I used to think that La Liga was the strongest football league in the world. You could see their dominance in European Cup competitions.
“The Spanish clubs always progressed a long way and often grabbed the main trophies, the Champions League and Europa League.
“But the Premier League has gained power over the last few years.
“When it comes to pure skills, La Liga is better. But because of the sheer intensity, the English competition is at a slightly higher level.”
The Premier League has gained power over the last few years, because of the sheer intensity, the English competition is at a slightly higher level
Frenkie De Jong
Former Everton boss Koeman confirmed that he urged Guardiola to sign De Jong and his former Ajax teammate Matthijs de Ligt when they were both at Ajax.
The 20-year-old centre-back was also on City's wishlist but ultimately joined Juventus after his financial package again became too rich for the Blues.
Koeman said: “I had discussed two names with Pep for a long while – and those names were Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
Most Read in Football
“Pep was wild about the type of midfielder Frenkie is. He wanted to know all about him.
“Frenkie is now one of the best midfielders in the world. His biggest quality? He has the ability to wait one of two more seconds before he decides what he is going to do with the ball.
“And then suddenly he gives a pass, which is beautiful and makes everyone think, ‘My God!’."