Frenkie de Jong has rejected desperate requests from Barcelona to drastically reduce his wages amid an ongoing standoff with the club.
The Catalan club had reportedly set a deadline until the end of the week – the start date for the current La Liga season – 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 those above him to remain patient on a deal after holding fresh talks with the player.
Barca have agreed a new salary reduction with veteran central defender Gerard Pique and last week held a meeting with Sergio Busquets over a similar arrangement. The club have been unable to register their five new signings and two contract renewals this summer with La Liga and are in a race against the clock to raise new funds.
De Jong is the highest earner at the Camp Nou and in addition to his salary, he is owed an additional €17million (£14.3m) this year in amoritizations and back payments. The club are wary that his earnings this year will come as a massive financial hit and one that severely complicates their financial plans.
The player’s agents Ali Dursun and Hasan Centikaya met with Barca chiefs on Wednesday last week and are urging the Dutch midfielder to push to be paid what monies he is owed. There have also been separate talks between coach Xavi Hernandez and the player, while club president Joan Laporta has also spoken to De Jong.
The Dutch star is currently not interested in reducing his salary, nor is he yet to push for a move away from the club despite sustained interest from the English duo - as outlined by Sport. His focus at the moment is continuing with his current arrangement and fulfilling his contract.
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In a desperate attempt to raise funds this summer, Barcelona president Laporta has overseen the sale of 25 percent (across two separate transactions) of its TV rights to Sixth Street alongside a 25 percent stake in Barça Studio to socios.com for a fee of around €100m.
However, those ‘economic levers’ (as the club have coined it) have proven insufficient in registering new signings Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde with La Liga. The same registration issue applies to Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto, who both penned new contracts this summer.
Barca are now set to activate their fourth ‘economic lever’ by selling up to 49 per cent of Barcelona studios. It is believed that, coupled with the club’s planned reduction in wages, would allow them to register the seven players. However, the club are also in the market to sign more players – namely Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City.
De Jong recently liked an Instagram post slamming Barcelona’s treatment of him this summer as the club continue to make a series of high-profile signings while he is still contractually owed money. Gary Neville has previously urged De Jong to seek legal advice due to his treatment by the Catalan giants.
