Barcelona accused of ‘extorting’ Frenkie De Jong over Man Utd transfer
Suraj Radia
- 26 Jul 2022 18:44 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona’s demand of Frenkie De Jong to leave or take a wage cut is ‘extortion’ according to Evgeniy Levchenko, the chairman of the Dutch players’ union.
Manchester United have made a €85 million offer for De Jong but the Dutchman is unwilling to leave Barcelona, in part due to the club owing him nearly €17m in unpaid wages.
Levchenko fears that the Spanish side may lower his playing time in order to force De Jong into leaving and believes the 25-year-old should refuse to sacrifice his wages.
"I would say 'no' [to a wage cut]. FC Barcelona has full responsibility. The club's long-term policy is dramatic. It is crazy when players have to pay for the financial mess," Levchenko said.
"I think a union should protect all players. Now a player is cornered by a club and chased away. Then it is up to an international union (FIFPro, ed.) to stand up.
"FC Barcelona will then invoke sporting grounds, but it is disastrous for the career of a young player. That makes it a kind of extortion."
Levchenko’s comments echo that of United legend Gary Neville, who was vocal on Twitter over Barcelona’s treatment of De Jong, calling it ‘bullying.’
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De Jong and the never-ending saga
De Jong has been United’s priority target all summer and the club have had a fee agreed with Barcelona for a number of weeks.
The ex-Ajax star is uncertain over joining United and would only consider leaving Barcelona for a team in the Champions League, with Chelsea reportedly interested.
However, despite manager Xavi claiming he doesn’t want to lose De Jong, the club have privately told the playmaker that he has no future at the club.
De Jong should consider legal action v Barcelona and all players should be behind him!A club spending fortunes on new players whilst not paying the ones they have under contract their full money is immoral and a breach. @FIFPRO should be all over bullying like this and stop it.
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) July 25, 2022
Barca are desperate for money to continue their summer spending, having already spent more than €100m on Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, as well as the imminent €50m signing of Jules Kounde.
De Jong is understood to have agreed to defer the payment of his wages last summer and he is refusing to leave until the dispute is resolved.
Despite their spending spree, Barca are insisting they cannot afford to pay his wages and want De Jong to take a pay cut, having already sold off future TV revenue and merchandising rights in order to raise cash.
