‘Cruyff would be ashamed of Barcelona’ treatment of De Jong
Suraj Radia
- 17 Aug 2022 10:44 CDT
- 3 min read
Marco van Basten has claimed that former Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff would be 'ashamed' to see how Barcelona have conducted their business this summer.
The Spanish side have spent more than €150 million on players despite a host of financial issues and have activated various economical 'levers' in order to fund their business.
Barcelona have also threatened legal action to Frenkie de Jong in an attempt to force him out of the club, largely due to his high salary and the €17m they owe him in deferred wages.
Cruyff was a former Barca player and manager who is credited as being one of the most influential figures in the club's history and Van Basten believes his Dutch compatriot would not agree with the actions of his old side.
Van Basten said: “I think Cruyff would have been ashamed to see how Barça have behaved today. In my opinion, the behaviour of Barcelona has been well below their standards.”
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Van Basten's quotes echo the sentiment of many figures in football, with pundits such as Gary Neville describing Barcelona's treatment of De Jong as 'bullying'.
The chairman of the Dutch players' union also accused Barcelona of 'exploiting' the former Ajax midfielder, with De Jong unwilling to leave the club despite an €85m fee being agreed with Manchester United.
Why would Frenkie de Jong want to join Man Utd?
Why would any player?@jacobsben of @cbssportsgolazo on a club who are "rotten at the foundational core" 😳 pic.twitter.com/c1ltUXMakV— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 15, 2022
De Jong has been told by Barcelona that he must leave the club or take a significant pay cut, however the Dutchman is unwilling to depart without being paid the wages he agreed to defer during the pandemic.
Barca have also claimed that the new contract De Jong signed in 2020 is void and that he must revert to his original deal on significantly less wages, something which the player's representatives did not respond well to.
De Jong is believed to be desperate to stay at Barcelona and manager Xavi has insisted that the 25-year-old is a key part of his plans but the club are keen on cashing in on one of their biggest earners.
