Frenkie de Jong rejects Man Utd: What is the state of play?
FT Desk
- 11 Jul 2022 03:47 CDT
- 3 min read
Frenkie de Jong has returned to pre-season training with Barcelona and has no intention of leaving Camp Nou for Manchester United.
Barcelona will take on Inter Miami, Real Madrid, Juventus and New York Red Bulls in the United States this summer, and De Jong has every intention of being on the plane.
The top target for Erik ten Hag and his new project at Manchester United, a fee of €65 million plus add-ons has reportedly already been agreed by the clubs for De Jong's transfer, with personal terms still to hash out.
Stay at Barcelona on reduced wages or join Man Utd 🤔
Which option should Frenkie de Jong pick ❓ pic.twitter.com/SNSgKXPybp— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 3, 2022
But De Jong has reiterated his desire to stay at his current employers, whom he described as his dream club on arriving from Ajax - where Ten Hag was his manager - in 2019.
Barcelona need to offload players, however, with the club still struggling to climb out of debt. 'Financial levers' such as selling a percentage of future TV revenues have allowed them to completed deals for new arrivals Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, but a De Jong sale would help further balance the books.
Barca want to pay De Jong less
To make matters more complicated for the player, Barcelona want to negotiate his salary down if he is to stay, as they are attempting to do with out-of-contract winger Ousmane Dembele.
De Jong currently brings home around €420,000 a week at Barca, making him the club's highest-paid player ahead of Sergio Busquets and Memphis Depay.
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Sport1 journalist Patrick Berger reports that De Jong is very disappointed with the way Barcelona have treated him, but whether that is enough for him to leave for Manchester remains to be seen.
Man Utd have a pressing need for central midfielders having lost Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic this season, and De Jong would fit the bill. But they failed to qualify for the Champions League, and Chelsea have also emerged as contenders for his signature. It is a transfer saga that still has a long way to run.
