Barcelona and Manchester City have gone head-to-head in the race to sign Ajax prospect Frenkie De Jong, Goal understands.
The two clubs each believe that the other has an advantage when it comes to landing the 21-year-old, who is being chased by Europe's biggest sides.
And the situation is further complicated by a mutual interest in Ajax centre-back Matthijs De Ligt.
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Barca spent the summer trying to open negotiations with Ajax for De Jong, with Goal having revealed that former technical secretary Robert Fernandez spoke with Ajax director of football Marc Overmars on numerous occasions, but the €30 million (£26.