Forget Cristiano Ronaldo and his efforts to leave Old Trafford.
Only one saga can claim to have defined this year's summer transfer window: the one which has embroiled Manchester United, Barcelona and Frenkie de Jong for weeks on end. What started as Erik ten Hag's honest attempt to sign his former Ajax colleague and make him United's midfield lynchpin has turned into a nightmare for the player concerned.
With an agreement finally reached between United and Barca, De Jong is faced with Camp Nou exile if he fails to consent to the Premier League switch, which would necessitate him leaving his "dream" club. The Netherlands international, 25, is disgusted by the way he has been treated by Blaugrana chiefs - and it is not hard to see why.
Talks between Barcelona and the Red Devils begin on 1 June as Ten Hag, newly installed in the latter dugout, sought a marquee midfield addition. Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard departed this summer at the expiry of their contracts, so the need for recruitment in the centre of the park was pressing.
Who better for Ten Hag to target than De Jong, who excelled under him at Ajax - winning the league-cup double in the 2018/19 season - and has continued to perform week in, week out during his three years in Spain. Initially, the two clubs were at an impasse over the transfer fee and United saw a bid of £54million plus add-ons turned down in mid-June.
Barcelona were understandably loath to make a loss on De Jong, having stumped up £65million to sign him from the Amsterdam club, so it was clear the Red Devils would need to up their bid. Undeterred by this first rejection, Ten Hag began planning for the future and held a phone call with his compatriot to inform him of the pivotal midfield role he would be given at Old Trafford.
At the time, there were reports the player had cleared his locker at Barcelona, suggesting the transfer was edging closer to completion. However, such speculation could hardly have been further from the truth.
As June turned to July, De Jong's clear opposition to the transfer only grew more evident. Although United are not in the best of positions after missing out on Champions League football with a sixth-place finish last season, the main issues causing his serious concerns relate to leaving Barcelona.
As he pointed out in a list of 10 reasons why he should not make the move, De Jong has just bought a house in the Catalan capital, Barca are his ideal club and he has an excellent relationship with Xavi. Regardless of the player's own wishes and after United were left red-faced by failed negotiations in Spain, Barcelona eventually accepted an improved bid in mid-July made up of a £63million up-front fee and a further £8million in add-ons.
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The only thing standing in the way of the transfer being completed was - and is - personal terms being agreed between United and De Jong, who was left disgusted at being told he would have to leave via a phone call. Yet the 44-cap international remains as determined as ever to stay put in Catalonia, where he remains under contract until 2026.
That is despite reports in Spain earlier this week claiming Barcelona could leave him out of their tour to the United States in a ruthless effort to force him to accept his fate. Club president Joan Laporta responded to these claims with a two-pronged message on Friday, saying: "It is not true that the club is forced to sell Frenkie de Jong. His trip to the US will be decided by Xavi."
The first part of Laporta's declaration relates to speculation Barcelona must offload De Jong in order to register the likes of Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, who they signed this summer. Despite his colleague's comments, director of football Mateu Alemany all but confirmed this is in fact the case, adding: "Frenkie is a very important player. We totally count on him, but [Financial] Fair Play forces us to sell players."
For De Jong, the second section of Laporta's message is the concerning part, as it leaves the door open to him being left out of pre-season - something which appeared impossible a few months ago, especially given his excellent understanding with Xavi. However, he has not bowed to the pressure exerted on him so far and De Jong's message to his teammates sums up his resolve; Spanish publication Sport claims he declared: "It is impossible for me to leave. How am I going to leave Barcelona?"
