Man Utd get €200m boost over Ansu Fati and Frenkie de Jong

Robin Bairner

• 9 Feb 2023 10:28 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United’s prospects of landing Barcelona pair Ansu Fati and Frenkie de Jong in the summer have received a boost by news coming from Spain.

Barca’s financial problems are set to strike them again, with more serious implications than they suffered last summer, when president Joan Laporta was able to pull several financial levers to alleviate the shortfall in their budget.

According to Mundo Deportivo, typically a source that is sympathetic with the Barcelona cause, the Blaugrana will be forced to slash wages by €200 million over the course of the summer.

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There are solutions to Barca’s problems, though, and that is where Man Utd’s interest in Ans Fati and Frenkie de Jong could come in.

Should Barcelona sell players, a portion of that money could go to pay the wage bill.

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Why Barcelona could sell De Jong and Fati

De Jong, in particular, will be an interesting case as he refused to fall into line with Barcelona’s new salary structure last summer, when there was a concerted interest from United to take him to the Premier League.

The Netherlands international is Barcelona’s highest earner at present, and as one of their most marketable players, they could raise a significant transfer fee by selling him – as well as shedding his significant wage.

Ansu Fati, meanwhile, could be seen as surplus to requirements given that he is struggling to break into the starting XI and could command a huge transfer fee.

Man Utd are, therefore, firmly in the picture for the two players.

Barcelona would clearly prefer to retain both men, though. They will seek other solutions to cut their bill, including a reduction of salary to the likes of Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets, yet these changes will only eat into a fraction of what must be done.

Consequently, selling players looks their best route out of their predicament, and that spells good news for Man Utd.