Barcelona's need to sell Frenkie de Jong ahead of the new season starting has grown amid their frustrations in their attempts to terminate the contract of Martin Braithwaite - their ‘richest player’.
The Catalan club have handed a 10-day deadline for any potential transfer of Dutch international De Jong with both Manchester United and Chelsea pursuing a deal. It comes after United boss Erik ten Hag instructed United to remain patient on a deal after holding fresh talks with the player.
While United have an initial fee in place with the Catalan club over a transfer which would reunite De Jong with his former Ajax boss Ten Hag, no final agreement is yet in place for a move. With negotiations over that transfer now spanning three months, Chelsea have registered an interested in gazumping any move. Blues chiefs have made contact with Barca and held discussions with de Jong’s representatives and are now strong contenders to sign him from under United’s noses.
Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde have all joined Barca’s ranks this summer, but none will be available for selection until La Liga inform them that their contracts are viable with the club’s financial situation. The same registration issue applies to Ousmane Dembele, who signed a new contract after his previous deal expired.
Barca need to offload multiple players in order to register any of those contracts and they are prepared to allow multiple first-team squad players to leave without transfer fees, in order to free up their wages. As outlined by Marca, the club have been unable to convince striker Braithwaite to leave the club – the Denmark international is battling to stay at the club for the remaining two years of his contract. This includes rejecting an offer from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club.
That is directly linked into the future of De Jong, who is the highest paid Barca player and alongside his lucrative wage packet, he is owed €17million in amortizations and back payments from the club. A report by Marca illustrates how his exit is not an absolute necessity for the club, but it is dependant upon the club offloading multiple other players.
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Braithwaite currently earns around £4million per season at Barcelona, but that represents only a fraction of the former Middlesbrough striker’s wealth portfolio. The Danish international boasts an impressive portfolio of investments within the real estate, fashion and the restaurant industries.
In 2020, Forbes outlined how the striker became the richest player at Barca following Lionel Messi's exit that year. The majority of Braithwaite’s wealth (£714,298) is derived from the investment into the real estate business NYCE, which he is a partner off alongside his uncle, Phillip Michael. The company's website boasts approximately £252million in assets under management, including a real estate portfolio believed to be worth around £210m.
Braithwaite – who also co-owns clothing business ‘Trente’ alongside French entrepreneur, journalist and TV personality Anne-Leure Louis – has a property portfolio which includes homes in New York, Philadelphia, Jersey City and San Antonio. The striker also owns the restaurant 'Gave', which is located within Barcelona.
