Frenkie de Jong does not want to leave Barcelona nor reduce his salary – Romano

While Barcelona’s transfer window so far has been largely successful, they have been finding it hard to clear out players from the squad, which is necessary for them to free up space on the wage bill and register new players.

The Catalans have, thus, made it a priority to get rid of unwanted stars as soon as they return from their pre-season tour of the US. And among the players who the Blaugrana wish to get rid of is midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

The Netherlands international has been a permanent fixture in the midfield since joining Barça in 2019 but has failed to reach the level expected. And given the massive contract he is on, offloading him would help the club make room on the payroll for new arrivals.

But, despite Barcelona’s insistence on offloading him, de Jong has no intentions of leaving Camp Nou at the moment, reports Fabrizio Romano.

The reliable Italian journalist insists that the 25-year-old loves the city of Barcelona, is happy at the club and wants to keep playing under Xavi Hernandez, which is why he is not even contemplating the possibility of an exit this summer.

In such a scenario, the Blaugrana plan to ask de Jong to take a pay cut in order to accommodate the new arrivals on their wage bill without breaching the La Liga Financial Fair Play rules.

However, as per Romano, the former AFC Ajax does not plan on reducing his wages either and intends to continue on his current contract itself, which would be an issue for the club.

As things stand, Barcelona already owe de Jong a substantial amount in deferred wage payments after he agreed to reduce his salary in the past couple of seasons. Asking the player to forego more of his salary in such a situation does not reflect well on the club.

However, the economic conditions are such that they are in need of reigning in their wages and adhering to a stricter policy with regard to contracts.

Romano also confirms that Barcelona and Manchester United have an agreement over an €85 million deal for the transfer of de Jong, which is still valid. However, with the player reluctant to alter his stance on leaving or reducing his wages, it remains to be seen how the club plan to tackle with the situation.