Behind-the-scenes chaos at Barcelona! Sporting director Deco accuses Frenkie de Jong of ‘faking’ illness which saw him miss their Champions League defeat to Antwerp

Barcelona had already secured qualification to the last 16 by topping Group H with a victory over Porto. Hence the match against Antwerp was a dead rubber from a sporting perspective. However, there was still significant prize money at stake, amounting to $3 million (£2.4m), based on UEFA figures. Hence, it is believed that president Joan Laporta had asked Xavi to include all senior players in the squad, meaning just hours before their departure to Belgium, Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Ronald Araujo were handed their boarding passes. However, De Jong who was excluded alongside three other senior players who did not travel due to "feverish" conditions.

According to RAC1, Sporting director Deco was furious to see De Jong missing from the group and called him up to get clarity from the player. He did not believe that De Jong was sick and even asked for a certificate from a doctor to confirm his claims. The pair then got involved in an argument, according to the report, as De Jong maintained that he was feeling unwell.

However, conflicting reports from Sport present a different version of events. They claim that although the phone call between Deco and De Jong did take place it had an informative and friendly tone, with Deco checking on De Jong's well-being and instructing him to stay in contact with the doctor.

The situation has allegedly led to internal turmoil, with the club expressing regret over attempts to destabilize it through incorrect information. Now it remains to be seen if De Jong gets fit enough to make the trip to Mestalla for Barcelona's next match against Valencia on Sunday - which could be a crucial one for under-pressure manager Xavi.