Posted in: 15/07/2022 – 12:40Last updated: 15/07/2022 – 12:38
Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona has agreed with Manchester United to give up its young midfielder, Francke de Jong, who wants to stay with the Catalan club, according to several European press reports on Friday.
“The two parties are at odds, the club wants him to leave and the player is willing to stay,” Marca wrote.
The 25-year-old’s defensive midfielder’s future is at a turning point as the club’s tour of the United States approaches, with the club possibly ruling him out to speed up the transfer.
And Marca added that Manchester United is ready for a huge deal, to reunite the international player with his compatriot, the new Dutch Red Devils coach, Eric Ten Hag, who supervised him at Ajax Amsterdam.
She added that United officials (sporting director John Murtaugh and chief executive Richard Arnold) traveled to Barcelona (last Monday) and held more than one meeting with the sporting directors of the La Liga runner-up, “The player will receive an annual salary of 21 million euros (about 21.1 million dollars) next season, and it will rise To the next 28 million, as well as bonuses. These are big numbers given the difficult (financial) situation at the club.”
United, who will miss the Champions League after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season, needs to replace the departure of French international midfielder Paul Pogba to Juventus and Serbian Nemanja Matic to Roma.
Ten Hag has so far signed young Dutch left-back Tyler Malacia, and wants to include Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen, while he is close to signing Ajax defender Lisandro Martins, who also played under the supervision of Ten Hag, in a big deal.
But on the other hand, De Jong seems comfortable in Barcelona after he became a key piece in the Blaugrana squad under the supervision of several coaches in his recent faltering periods, including Ernesto Valverde, Kiki Setien, Dutchman Ronaldo Koeman and Xavi.
And Catalan Sport wrote that De Jong, who recently bought a house in Barcelona, told his colleagues of his refusal to leave, “It is impossible for me to leave. How do I leave Barcelona?”
On the English side, the BBC and the Daily Mail reported that Barcelona had agreed with United a deal worth 63 million pounds (about 74.5 million dollars) with an additional 8.5 million in bonuses, “but de Jong is facing off with the club in relation to more than 17 million dollars.” pounds from the deferred salaries and bonuses he owes to the player. And the Daily Mail added that Barcelona had offered the player to reduce his salary or leave.
Barcelona, which renewed the contract of its French wing, Ousmane Dembele, needs to abandon the player to reduce his salary ceiling and liberalize the wage rate of his players, after the complexity of the registration process for his new players, Ivory Coast Franck Kessier and Brazilian Rafinha.
Reports indicate the club’s desire to sign Bayern Munich’s top scorer, Robert Lewandowski, Spanish full-back Cesar Aspelicueta from Chelsea, and French Jules Conde, the center of Sevilla’s defense.
De Jong joined Barcelona in the summer of 2019 from Ajax Amsterdam for 86 million euros, and has a contract with him until June 2026.
© 2022 AFP