Manchester United have been handed encouragement in their pursuits of Barcelona pair Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati with La Liga demanding that the Catalan giants dramatically reduce their wage bill.
The Spanish side’s dire financial situation has been public knowledge for a while and was, ultimately, one of the reasons that saw them lose the services of seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi ahead of the 2021/22 season. Their predicament has not been totally rectified over recent seasons, with considerable work still to be done by the Barcelona hierarchy.
In an ongoing dispute with La Liga, the Catalans have been told by the league’s chief Javier Tebas that they must lower their total wage bill by over €200m (£177m), according to Mundo Deportivo. There are various routes that the club could go down in order to do this but the most obvious would be to sell a number of Xavi’s first-team squad.
