Home » Barcelona deliver ultimatum to Frenkie de Jong

Barcelona deliver ultimatum to Frenkie de Jong

De Jong can either accept salary deduction or negotiate with either United or Chelsea

by Ayantan Chowdhury

Finally, there seems to be an end in sight with regards to Manchester United’s protracted chase of Frenkie de Jong. Erik ten Hag and Chelsea are waiting with bated breath to find out what the playmaker decides in the coming days.

According to Spanish publication SPORT, Barcelona held a meeting with the Dutch midfielder’s entourage and it was clearly communicated that either the player needs to agree to yet another substantial pay cut or start negotiating for an impending transfer with either United or Chelsea.

Barcelona have spent a considerable amount of money to sign the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde but have not been able to register their new recruits due to budget constraints.

Barca have till Aug 13

They have time till the start of the La Liga season which is August 13 to register new players and abide by La Liga’s strict salary cap.

So far, as reported previously, the club are quite some distance away from safety and still need to sell more players while they have also asked established stars like Gerard Pique to take a further hit in terms of salary.

With time running the Catalan club have issued an ultimatum to the Netherlands international and De Jong has time till next week to decide whether to stick to his choice of remaining at Barca or move to either Manchester or London.

Interestingly, in the meeting with De Jong’s agent, the La Liga giants have made it abundantly clear that they have reached this stage purely due to economic reasons and not sporting ones.

Xavi apparently really likes the player and if he were to agree to a salary deduction as imposed on the rest of the squad, he would once again become a guaranteed starter.

The Camp Nou outfit cannot afford to pay the deferred wages as well as continue to pay the midfielder his original pre-pandemic salary due to the severe financial crisis at the club.

Barca still hopeful

According to the same publication, Laporta is said to be optimistic that the 25-year-old will agree to the proposal and remain in Catalunya. He and his girlfriend have already bought a property there and are very happy in Spain.

De Jong’s entourage have made it abundantly clear that they do not wish for their client to take on another salary hit but De Jong will have to decide for himself in the coming days.

The article also mentions that Chelsea are pushing very hard to get the deal over the line and have agreed to pay what Barcelona want. United have already agreed on a deal worth a guaranteed fee of €75million upfront with add-ons worth another €10million.


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