Frenkie de Jong is caught between two of the richest clubs in football, but both are trying to get him to take a pay cut.
Despite the fact that Joan Laporta said Barcelona would be doing everything they could to keep de Jong at the club, the Daily Telegraph say a deal between the Catalans and Manchester United has been tied up. The fixed fee would be €65m with another €20m payable in variables.
The issue is in fact a matter of wages. Joan Laporta hinted that they would need to settle the matter of his salary if he were to stay at Barcelona. That is because after deferring some of his salary during the pandemic, he is due to make up that salary in the coming seasons. This season de Jong is set to make €18m plus an extra €2.88m in loyalty bonus, while the following year he would be due €27.7m in total.
Understandably, Laporta would be keen to lower that number as Barcelona seek to rebuild. Meanwhile the reason the transfer has not gone through is that while United are willing to pay him €18m in salary each year, they will not take on the extra €12.5m in bonuses due to him.
If it is a matter of money, the usual pattern is that someone will give in on their demands or compromise in order to get a deal done. However with de Jong content in Barcelona, there is a chance he stands firm in his position and neither United nor Barcelona would be able to sway him into a more beneficial deal.
