Barcelona want to renew midfield maestro until 2028, initial contacts positive

Frenkie de Jong has gone from almost being sold by Barcelona last year to becoming the lynchpin of their midfield department.

The 26-year-old had particularly thrived in the ongoing campaign, prior to getting injured in the game against Celta Vigo, with the presence of Oriol Romeu in the defensive midfield position seemingly liberating the Dutchman.

Given how important a cog he has become in Xavi’s scheme, Barcelona are eager to renew his contract in the coming months.

Initial contacts made

Fernando Polo of Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Barcelona are intent on handing Frenkie de Jong a new contract extension at least until 2028.

The midfield maestro’s current contract with the La Liga champions expires in the summer of 2026, having signed a lucrative renewal back in 2020 which puts him among the highest earners at the club.

And Barça are keen on further tying down his future to a longer contract, with previous reports suggesting that it potentially would be with a reduced salary, like with Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

In fact, the report states that new sporting director Deco has already made first contact with De Jong to communicate the club’s intentions.

The former Portuguese international spoke with the midfielder after his injury to provide his support and convey the Blaugrana’s desire to renew his contract.

During the chat, Deco is also understood to have made it clear to De Jong that the move is not in order to generate Fair Play margin but purely motivated by sporting criteria.

The report adds that the feelings from the initial contacts are positive, given that De Jong is very happy at Barcelona and would be open to the idea of extension.

Talks with agent to take place next

As iterated earlier, De Jong is happy at Barça and would like to continue at the club, with he and his partner settled in the city as well.

On the prospect of his extension, De Jong had recently said: “My contract renewal? My agent is taking care of that, but I’m happy here.” 

With first contacts with the player going well, Deco’s next move will be to initiate negotiations with the midfielder’s agent, Ali Dursun.

The Barcelona director is in no rush to close the operation right away, but wishes to tie down the contract extension by next summer, at which point De Jong would have two years left on his current deal.