Frenkie de Jong emerged into a world star during the 2018/19 season.

Ajax had a number of standout performers last campaign, including Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Dusan Tadic.

But arguably their best player was De Jong.

The Dutch midfielder was influential as his side won the Eredivisie and made it to the Champions League semi-finals.

It was always going to be tough for Ajax to keep hold of their prized asset and it was Barcelona who won the race for his signature.

The Catalan giants announced in January that they had signed De Jong for a reported fee of €75m, which would see him join the club on July 1.

However, it appears that is not what De Jong once had in mind.

Incredibly, the 22-year-old has admitted that he intended to follow the same path as Ajax's director of football, Marc Overmars.

During his playing career, Overmars moved from Ajax to Arsenal. 

After three successful seasons in north London, he then decided to move on to Barcelona.

And, that is the exact same route that De Jong himself wanted to take.

"In my mind I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, ​​call it the Marc Overmars route," De Jong told Voetbal International, per the Metro.

"But then again, if you can go directly to Barcelona, ​​then you are right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream."

That would have been incredible for Arsenal.

The Gunners have lacked someone in the middle of the park who can control a game of football like De Jong.

But the youngster came to his senses and decided against moving to Arsenal.

De Jong is expected to make an instant impact with his new club and he believes that Barcelona play a style of football that is perfect for him.

"Barcelona plays with a style of football that is perfect for midfielders," De Jong told Barca TV, per Marca.

"They have a lot of the ball, control it, control the game. I believe that, for me, it is the perfect place to fit in."