Frenkie de Jong admits he knew Barcelona would PRESSURE him to leave the club

Frenkie de Jong has revealed that he fully expected Barcelona would try to force him out of the club by leaving him on the substitutes bench in bigger matches with Manchester United still showing interest.

De Jong has featured 10 times in all competitions for the Catalan giants this season, but the majority of those have been from the substitutes' bench.

He started on the bench in their high-profile Champions League matches against Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, as well as LaLiga games against Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo.

The Holland international has in fact only started three times in the LaLiga and once in the Champions League against Viktoria Plzen.

Manchester United spent the majority of the transfer window chasing the former Ajax star in a deal worth £64million, only to end up missing out on Erik ten Hag's top target because he was desperate to stay put.

De Jong has now, however, admitted that he was being heavily pressured to leave the club, therefore is not surprised by his lack of game time so far this season.

'I was calm. I decided in May that I wanted to stay. My opinion has never changed during this entire period,' De Jong told Ziggo Sport.

'I stayed calm. But then you know the pressure would start to come... Yes, from the newspapers, from the president, exactly. From everywhere actually. But I wanted to stay at Barca so it never baffled me.'

The 25-year-old will be hoping he is handed the chance to shine in Sunday's El Clasico against bitter title rivals Real Madrid.

He made a huge impact the last time the two side's met in the LaLiga as he helped Xavi's side seal a huge 4-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu back in March.

'I want to be a starter again. Against Bayern, I was not a starter and I hope to be against Real Madrid,' De Jong added.

'Maybe he has already decided, but normally we don't know until the day of the game.'

All of this despite the midfielder agreeing to renegotiate his deal at the end of the season after being asked to take a wage cut.

The latest news comes after reports from Spain suggesting that he is 'disgusted' by the way Xavi has used him sparingly, according to Spanish outlet Sport.

It's claimed he thought he was going to have a 'decisive' role at Barcelona this season but has now actually slipped down the midfield pecking order.

That news potentially being a major boost to Manchester United with ESPN previously reporting that boss Erik ten Hag has not been put off by the midfielder's resistance to leave the Spanish giants in the summer.

United did get a deal over the line for Casemiro from Real Madrid but it is hoped Ten Hag can lure De Jong to Old Trafford and play him alongside the Brazilian.