Nigel De Jong’s long-term future at Manchester City has been plunged into doubt after the Dutch midfielder revealed that talks over a new contract have broken down.
De Jong, 26, has become a cult hero with the City fans and was hoping to seal a deal that would see him spend his peak years with the club.
But negotiations have hit a stalemate and De Jong admitted to Sunday Mirror Sport that it will be more difficult to broker an agreement suitable to both parties as time ticks down on the 23 months left on his current deal.
“There’s no update on my contract because the negotiations have stopped,” said the man recruited from Hamburg for £18million by former City boss Mark Hughes in January 2009.
“Maybe something will happen again when the season starts, but at the moment it is a little frustrating for me.
“I can’t go into details other than to say that I couldn’t reach an agreement with the club.
“I have two years left, but it needs to be sorted out as soon as possible because the longer these things take, the harder it can become to find an agreement.
“We will have to see what happens in the future.
“I was hoping that it would all be agreed this summer but it hasn’t.
“I want to stay at Manchester City because I enjoy being a part of this club, but any new contract has to be right for both sides. It has frustrated me, but I am a patient man and we will have to see what happens.”
The impasse will come as a bitter blow to City fans still reeling from Carlos Tevez's attempt to quit the club.
There were suggestions last summer that De Jong was surplus to requirements.
But his commitment and aggression were crucial as City finished third in the Premier League and lifted the FA Cup last season.
De Jong wants to stay in Manchester because he thinks City are about to build on that success. And he believes the bitterness being levelled at the club from Premier League rivals like Arsenal and Liverpool is a sign that they have the traditional big four worried. De Jong said: “Last season was a big breakthrough for the club – and especially the last six weeks.
“We had a lot of big games towards the end, like United in the FA Cup semi-final and Stoke in the final and then Spurs for the Champions League qualification – and we won them all.
“That was the difference. When it came to the big games we won. Until you win something there will always be questions about your mentality, so getting the FA Cup was a great moment.
“When we started this project it was the intention to become one of the big clubs challenging for the trophies and last season was only a step towards doing that.
He added: “We know that people take us seriously because of the criticism the club gets from so many people on the outside.
“The smallest things get blown up to be big problems. That wouldn’t happen when you are 10th or 12th but they do when you’re in the top four.
“With success comes jealousy. We have to stay focused and make sure things others say don’t affect us.”
