De Jong’s Man Utd transfer just took a big step to completion
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 2 Jun 2022 16:35 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United’s hopes of signing Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona have been significantly boosted by the Spanish club’s decision to reject a deal from CVC over their television rights.
De Jong is a major transfer target for new Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag, who first and foremost wants to strengthen the midfield of the Old Trafford club.
His former protégé at Ajax is at the top of his list, though the Netherlands star’s apparent desire for Champions League football and reticence to leave Barcelona had cast some doubt upon a deal being struck.
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While there was always a strong possibility that Barca might have cashed in on the midfielder in any case, that has only been strengthened by developments in recent hours, which have further hastened the Catalans’ need for a cash injection.
Barcelona pull out of key deal
According to RAC1, Barcelona have pulled out of a deal with CVC that would have seen 8.2% of the club’s television rights sold for the next 40 years. That was expected to be worth €270 million to the Blaugrana.
While a deal to sell off 49.9% of BLM, founded to maximise the club’s image rights, remains in place, worth around €200m, Barcelona continue to face a massive financial black hole that has only become worse – in the short-time, at any rate – because of this decision. The club feels, however, that over the duration of the contract, they will be better off.
Clearly, though, this causes more immediate hardship for Barca and hard decisions will need to be taken. It may well be that selling De Jong is one of those calls. After all, he is their most marketable and expendable player.
Furthermore, it throws transfer deals for Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and others into doubt.
Man Utd stand to benefit, and given the knowledge that Barcelona are facing this economic crisis, it should also allow them to negotiate a more favourable transfer fee in the case of De Jong.
