€200m on transfers and a pay cut? De Jong should tell Barcelona to ‘FU** OFF’
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
- 4 min read
Barcelona are living in absolute dreamland right now.
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Almost any other business owing such a sum of money would not only be shut down, but they would have their assets stripped and their owners would be in extremely hot water.
But Barcelona believe they are above the rules. They are superior to everyone else. They are more than a club, as their most hypocritical of mottos reads.
While the fire burns around them, they continue to behave as if nothing is wrong.
This summer they continue to spend and spend and spend money they do not have, making a mockery of and hurting everyone around them. They have just virtually mortgaged the club by selling 10 per cent of their tv rights for the next 25 years in exchange for just over €200 million to spend on transfers. They are in the process of selling another 15 per cent of tv rights, while selling other assets also.
Today they completed the €65m signing of Raphinha from Leeds, a player they don’t even need. This comes just over six months after they paid the same amount for another attacker in Ferran Torres from Man City.
They are also in negotiations to buy yet another attacker, Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich for over €50m. He turns 34 this summer.
They will then turn their attentions to signing Jules Kounde from Sevilla. He will cost at least €60m, perhaps as much as €80m. Let’s not forget youngster Pablo Torre, who arrived for €5m.
Ignoring the expensive free transfers of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on big salaries, in transfer fees alone Barcelona will likely surpass the €200m in spending this summer.
Including the Ferran Torres deal, that comes to over €250m in 2022. And let’s not even delve into their astronomical wage bill or the huge back-payments they owe many of their players after they asked them to defer their salaries to help the club through their financial crisis.
One such player who agreed to defer his wages is Frenkie de Jong. He agreed to take a pay cut in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic in exchange for the money to be added to his salary in the years from 2022 to 2026, which is when his current deal expires.
Barcelona are now desperately trying to sell De Jong to Man Utd. An €85m fee has more or less been agreed but De Jong has no interest in joining them. Neither for sporting reasons (Man Utd are a mess and not even in the Champions League) nor for financial reasons.
Barca are incredibly refusing to pay De Jong the wages he is owed if he joins Man Utd. They have asked Man Utd to pay them, who rightly are refusing. De Jong naturally won’t consider writing them off.
What is even worse, Barcelona have told De Jong that if he refuses to join Man Utd that they will only let him stay at the club if he agrees to yet ANOTHER pay-cut starting immediately.
So not only will he have to write off the money he is already owed by Barcelona, he will have to then take another cut on top of that.
Unsurprisingly, De Jong has told Barcelona where to go. Contractually, Barcelona can’t impose anything on him.
It is an utter insult that in a summer in which they are spending over €200m on new players and handing out massive salaries elsewhere, they have the balls to ask De Jong to take a paycut.
Barcelona truly are living in dreamland.
