Frenkie de Jong lit up Barcelona 's final friendly of pre-season to further show Manchester United that he is happy to stay at the Nou Camp.
Barca hosted Mexican side Pumas UNAM in the Joan Gamper Trophy in their last match before getting their La Liga season underway next week. De Jong started on the bench, with Barca boss Xavi instead selecting a midfield of Gavi, Pedri and Sergio Busquets to start the game.
But the Dutchman was brought on at half-time, replacing Gavi in the hosts' midfield trio. He duly delivered a starring performance as Barca eased to a 6-0 hammering of their Liga MX opponents.
Just eight minutes after coming on, he picked the ball up deep from fellow substitute Jordi Alba. The 25-year-old turned, before bursting away from two Pumas defenders and into the opposition half.
He carried the ball past the halfway circle, before poking the ball with the outside of his boot in a brilliant pass to Ansu Fati, though the winger's cross was unable to reach any of his team-mates. De Jong followed that brilliant piece of skill up with a goal of his own in the rout.
The strike came with six minutes remaining of the game, when he tackled Marco Garcia on the edge of the Pumas box. Having gone one-on-one with the keeper, De Jong at first dummied with this right foot before putting the ball into the bottom corner.
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It was a performance that would appear to signal that De Jong is still keen to put his all into every Barca appearance. That would be another blow to Manchester United, who remain keen to sign the 25-year-old, but have seen a deal stall.
The main reason for that it De Jong's unwillingness to move to Old Trafford, even though he would be an automatic starter under Erik ten Hag. Based on his performance at the Nou Camp on Sunday night, he is a player United could well do with, especially in light of their disastrous opening day defeat to Brighton.
But as he praised his side for a successful pre-season, Xavi made it clear that he wanted to see De Jong stay. Barca have insisted that can only happen if he takes a pay cut, with Xavi admitting that he could still leave despite his wishes for the Dutchman.
“I don’t know what will happen to Frenkie, until the 31st of August anyone can move. He knows what I think of him and what the club wants from him. Of course I do count on him, he’s a great player," the Barca boss said.
“We have a lot of competition for the starting positions. With this intensity and desire levels, we're doing well. Intensity is indisputable. However, there are a lot of things we have to improve.
“I’m happy and we want to continue like this. We had a good pre-season in terms of matches and results. The feelings are good. Overall, we had a good pre-season. It was dynamic, with good football, and good results. The sensations are very good."
