Pique and Busquets could force De Jong and Aubameyang out of Barcelona
Robin Bairner
- 17 Aug 2022 08:54 CDT
- 3 min read
Barcelona’s stance on transfer for Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be changed by the defiance of Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets over their contracts.
Barca need to free up space in their wage budget in order to register summer signing Jules Kounde and also potentially Marcos Alonso of Chelsea and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City, who they have designs on signing before the close of the 2022 summer transfer window.
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One way they had hoped to do that was by having Pique and Busquets agree salary cuts. Mundo Deportivo explains, however, that talks are coming to a halt.
In the case of Busquets, Barcelona wanted to agree a salary deferment and to also extend his deal by a couple of years. The midfielder, though, wants to move to MLS next summer and will not do that.
Pique, meanwhile, has been in talks over a significant pay cut. In this case, the player is said to have been willing to agree to this but wanted guarantees that he will be paid the €50 million the club owes him in wage deferments and salary. These were not forthcoming from Barcelona, so talks have ground to a halt.
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How this affects De Jong and Aubameyang
This news dramatically impacts what might happen in the closing two weeks of the transfer window, specifically with De Jong and Aubameyang, who are both wanted by Manchester United and Chelsea.
Barcelona have been keeping their options open with regards the two players throughout the summer but could not be forced to sell in order for Kounde to play.
There is already a deal in place with both Man Utd and Chelsea over De Jong, while Aubameyang increasingly looks surplus to requirements.
Although Memphis Depay could complete a move to Juventus, it is unlikely that this deal alone will free up the money the Catalan side so desperately need.
The balance of power in the case of both De Jong and Aubameyang is, therefore, transferring slowly to Chelsea and Man Utd as Barcelona’s contract talks with Pique and Busquets stall.
