Frenkie de Jong and his Barcelona teammates were resigned to their Champions League fate before Bayern Munich’s Camp Nou procession had even got underway.
Inter Milan’s 4-0 romp over Viktoria Plzen in the early window of Wednesday night’s games, meant that even if the Blaugrana upset the odds against Bayern - it would count for nought. Picking up one point across two fixtures with the Italians meant their hopes of qualification lay in the hands of Group C’s minnows.
Had Plzen got an unlikely result, perhaps Xavi’s side would have put up some kind of fight against Bayern. But even that seems fanciful after a 3-0 domination perfectly encapsulated where the two European heavyweights currently find themselves.
And so for the second consecutive season the five-time champions of Europe find their campaign in the elite competition ended before the first door on advent calendars are opened.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this, of course. After a period of economic hardship a brazen and gung-ho Barcelona strategy saw them bet their future on instant success. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde and many others arrived. Pulling the economic levers required to delay the financial woes which are destined to now fall upon them.
But signs that all was not well in Catalonia were clear and they were most present with the toing and froing over De Jong’s future. Manager Xavi regularly spoke up the importance of the Dutchman, who signed from Ajax three years previous.
However, the sounds coming from the Camp Nou boardroom were very different with a concerted effort put into facilitating his exit. Reports of an agreement with Manchester United were made public, with Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag desperate to bring him to Old Trafford.
It is understood an agreement in the region of £56million was reached between the two clubs, only for De Jong to decline the move. Barca’s willingness to strike a deal stemmed from him being said to be the highest earner in their first-team squad and was widely reported to be owed up to €17million in back payments through deferrals and amortisations.
De Jong has since refuted those comments, telling ZiggoSport. "I don't think I am Barca's best paid player after Messi. There has been a campaign with lot of lies. In each of first 3 years I played here, I cut my salary. So eventually money has to come back and of course it will look bigger."
Nevertheless, with both clubs attempting to grease the wheels for a blockbuster transfer, De Jong stayed put. Much of that was to do with United’s rapid decline from the top of the European game..
No longer competing in the Champions League, Ten Hag inherited a team plying their trade in the Europa League. The drop in standard was said to be a contributing factor to the impasse in talks - but just two months later he finds himself in that very competition.
In fact, should United win their next two European games they will bypass De Jong’s current employers into the round-of-16, with Barcelona forced to play in the last 32. And following their relegation into Europe’s second-string tournament, speculation over De Jong’s future is set to ramp up again.
Elimination from the Champions League is reported to initially hit Barca in the pocket to the tune of £18m, although the long-term cost could be exponentially greater. The need to recoup some of their losses will be great and De Jong, as one of their most saleable assets is sure to be dangled to potential suitors.
Even from a footballing sense, the idea of selling De Jong appears a more palatable one than it did in the summer. In the early weeks of the season Xavi has moved the Netherlands international in and out of his starting XI, using him more as a jack of all trades rather than a master of one.
President Joan Laporta has even hinted - albeit prior to their latest financial blow -that they could be in the market for a midfield player to rival De Jong: "We are working on the market. We have had talks with the coaching staff and we intend to improve the squad, which is already very powerful but can still improve more.
"We are working with the coach, with the technical secretariat and the director of football for this winter market. We have been analysing things for some time and the team will be improved if we have the chance to do so."
It means that United are sure to be linked again with a player Ten Hag sees as a vital part of his Old Trafford rebuild. But where there were barriers just weeks ago, the move now seems significantly more sideways than backwards. And unlike during the summer, where United’s desperation was clear to anyone paying attention - the roles may be reversed when talks re-open.
United’s Football Director John Murtough has already suggested that January will be quieter, having given the new boss £200m during his first window in charge.
“We ended the summer slightly ahead of where we expected to be in terms of the number of players brought in, so we don’t anticipate the same level of activity in future windows, although we will continue to strengthen,” he said in a recent fans’ forum.
Put together it means United are in a much stronger position at the negotiating table, with De Jong’s reasons for rejecting the approach last time, looking somewhat flimsier considering Barcelona’s own shambolic and public demise.
