Frenkie de Jong was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League.
The Dutch midfielder was in talks with a potential move to Stamford Bridge as former coach Thomas Tuchel was eager to bolster his midfield.
His contract with Barcelona will expire in the summer of 2026 and the club owed him £17million in deferred wages from the pandemic.
But the 25-year-old midfielder decided to extend his stay at Camp Nou.
De Jong said: “I was calm. I decided, in May, that I wanted to stay.
“My opinion has never changed during all this period – I remained calm,” he added. “But then you know that the pressure would start coming. Yes, from the newspapers, from the president. From everywhere in fact. But I wanted to stay at Barça, so it never baffled me.”
He added: “We don’t talk much with Xavi, but we only talk about football.
“I knew he would play fewer minutes at the beginning of the season. I want to be a starter again. Against Bayern, I wasn’t a starter and I hope to be against Real Madrid. Maybe he already has decided, but usually we don’t know until the day of the game.”
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