Barcelona consider legal action over Frenkie de Jong contract
Karan Tejwani
- 8 Aug 2022 12:29 BST
- 3 min read
The saga surrounding Frenkie de Jong’s Barcelona has taken another twist as the club want to annul his current contract and revert back to his original deal he signed in 2019.
De Jong has been the subject of interest from Manchester United, and the two clubs even agreed a fee in July, but haven’t got a deal done due to the player’s wishes to get wages he is owed.
De Jong agreed to a new deal in the pandemic that would see him defer his wages, and he is owed €18 million by the club, which he wants paid before making a decision to leave.
Barcelona, though, have been in serious financial issues, and have activated economic levers to fund new signings and bolster their team instead.
Related articles
Barcelona now looking at legal avenues
Now, though, they’re willing to take legal action, alleging the terms given to him by the club’s previous board – led by former President Josep Bartomeu – involved criminality.
According to Spanish sources, Barcelona made it clear to De Jong on 15 July that they found evidence of criminal actions by those involved in agreeing to his new deal in October 2020.
July 15 was just a day after the club reportedly agreed a fee with Manchester United for the sale of the midfielder, with both clubs being in negotiations since May.
Frenkie de Jong is world class. That’s the tweet 👍🏻. pic.twitter.com/9HzryMgKGK
— Sara 🦋 (@SaraFCBi) August 7, 2022
De Jong’s agreement to extend his deal and accept a deferred wage was one of Bartomeu’s last actions as Barcelona President, as he left the club soon after.
Barcelona now want to rescind the deal De Jong agreed to in 2020, and go back to the one he signed in 2019, when he initially signed from Ajax.
It’s believed that FIFPro, the global players’ union, is monitoring the situation and the possibility of any wrongdoing from Barcelona in order to protect De Jong’s interests.
De Jong does prefer a stay at Barcelona, but has attracted interest from Chelsea and Manchester United, and it’s still unclear how this will end, as there are several factors involved.
