Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona player. Manchester United and Chelsea want to change that. De Jong would probably like to move, too… but he's also apparently happy at Barcelona. Barcelona would reportedly really like him to leave. And no one wants to lose too much money in any situation.
Following? Don't worry if you're not. De Jong's transfer saga began as far back as May when his former Ajax mentor Erik ten Hag was appointed the new manager of Manchester United and a solid three months on, the world is none the wiser as to where the Dutchman will be playing this season.
So… what the hell is happening?
Frenkie de Jong, Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea: The background to the saga
Frenkie de Jong was touted as a potential early casualty of Xavi's reign way back last season. Question marks were raised when the Blaugrana legend appeared to favour stronger, more powerful midfielders early his tenure and when De Jong was substituted against Rayo Vallecano in April, he reacted by storming down the tunnel rather than taking his place on the bench. It seemed like the start of the end.
The rumour mill went into overdrive, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, PSG and others all linked with a move. Barcelona proceeded to tie up a deal for Franck Kessie shortly after. All roads seemed to lead to a De Jong exit.
But then reports began indicating that De Jong had wages owed to him from Barcelona. Some outlets reported that a deal between Barça and United had been agreed and that the only issue was between FDJ and his employers over this money owed, with Spanish publication Marca saying that the player himself had agreed to defer approximately €17 million in wages when he extended his contract during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to those deferred wages, Barcelona are reportedly obliged to pay four more years of De Jong's basic salary, plus €15.6m in loyalty bonuses. That package comes to €88.6m, though even that doesn't include appearance and performance-related add-ons – which could top the total figure owed to the player over €100m.
Does Frenkie De Jong want to leave Barcelona?
Apparently, De Jong isn't in a hurry to waive the money he's owed and depart a beautiful Catalan city for the Europa League and a project that isn't off the ground yet – especially when Barça are spending what he believes to be his money on shiny new toys like Raphinha. Who'd have thought?
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the player has told his employers he doesn't intend to leave, though Gary Neville made a very good point in a conversation with his Sky colleagues ahead of the Premier League season. If De Jong really didn't want to go, why wouldn't Manchester United have given up their pursuit?
Ten Hag knows the player well and there must have been some indication from him that he was interested in moving to Manchester – otherwise they'd have moved onto other targets long ago. Chelsea probably wouldn't still be in the race, either.
Do Barcelona want to move Frenkie De Jong on?
How many ways can you say "Yes"?
De Jong not leaving means that Barcelona cannot register their new signings ahead of the new campaign, including De Jong's replacement, Kessie, along with Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha and Jules Kounde – not to mention Ousmane Dembele has extended his contract, too.
Xavi has even stated he'd play De Jong at centre-back. He looked great there for Ajax – one wonders whether it's a threat, however, hurry the player out the door. Now, the saga's taken an extraordinary twist even by its own standards.
Barcelona have reportedly threatened to sue De Jong
According to the Athletic, Barcelona wrote to De Jong on July 15 claiming to have found evidence of criminal actions, on behalf of the previous board who signed his renewal in 2020. Now, they want to cancel his existing contract and return to the deal he was on previously.
Gerard Pique, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and current Tottenham loanee Clement Lenglet all signed deals deferring wages at this time, as outgoing president Josep Bartomeu looked to slow the financial crash at Camp Nou before he was ousted from his position. This contract did receive approval from relevant legal parties and La Liga itself, while The Athletic states that they understand the board who signed the deal are confident in the legality of the contract.
Evgeniy Levchenko, the chairman of the Dutch players' union, claims that De Jong might be a victim of extortion, while union FIFPRO is closely monitoring the drama. Barça president Joan Laporta denies any wrongdoing.
Will Chelsea or Manchester United end up signing De Jong?
Apparently, De Jong himself is yet to make a decision on whether he favours Manchester United or Chelsea. It would seem, however, that Barcelona have no issue with burning bridges with the 25-year-old, who they paid upwards of £60m to sign in 2019 (but arguably still haven't got the best out of).
United have not been seriously linked with a Plan B in the event that the De Jong deal fails to materialise – something that is worrying their fans after an opening day defeat at home to Brighton. Youri Tielemans, Ruben Neves and Adrian Rabiot have been discussed in gossip columns but it certainly feels as if United will wait until the end of the window for this saga to wrap up.
Chelsea, meanwhile, feel more like opportunists in the chaos. The Blues seem to have done most of their summer business in this way, pouncing in the chance to sign the likes of Marc Cucurella from under Manchester City's noses, looking at Raphinha or Dembele depending on who Barça signed (they weren't expecting both) and even enquiring about the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Gabriel Jesus to test the waters. Given the club's situation of being under sanction last season and changing ownership, it probably makes sense that their business won't be based on long-term targeting this summer.
Should the situation between De Jong and Barcelona be resolved swiftly, however, perhaps Man City could still have another part to play. With the Catalan outfit reportedly interested in bringing Bernardo Silva to La Liga – yeah, more money flying about is certainly going to help, isn't it? – Pep Guardiola might be able to either help his former side out or twist the knife further. Would it be a stretch to see De Jong at City at the end of all of this?
Barcelona have apparently told City that they intend to bid for Bernardo by the end of the window – it seems this story has some way to go yet…
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