Barcelona will have to make a big sale this summer, and Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong is candidate number one to be the sacrifice made by the Blaugrana.
After reports emerged late on Thursday night that de Jong would be open to leaving the club this summer for the right side, Relevo are now reporting that Barcelona feel similarly. They feel his performances have not matched with expectations, and five years after signing him for €80m, they may be willing to part with him.
President Joan Laporta claims they turned down €100m for de Jong from Manchester United two summers ago, although it was largely suspected that it was his insistence on staying that kept him at the club. Now that has changed, and with his €24.8m salary this season the largest at the club, his sale makes financial sense too.
🚨 BREAKING: De Jong's future is more open than ever before. From within the club there are doubts about him and it's expected that the player himself would give the green light to a departure. @alexpintanel 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/bYD63AZ0Yo
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 9, 2024
The initial report did say that de Jong would want to go to a side with realistic ambitions of winning the Champions League, which limits the pool of clubs that could get involved. However if both sides are open to an exit, then it will merely be a case of finding a buyer and a price that suits everyone – Barcelona are not in a position to be turning down big money.
