Barcelona could sell midfielder on €20 million wages in the summer; PSG, Man United interested
Barcelona’s biggest challenge heading into the summer transfer window will be getting rid of certain players, whose market value is high enough to generate a solid transfer fee, but their importance is not high enough that it does long-term damage to the team.
Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen were initially thought to be two of these candidates. With the centre-back position quite stacked, Barcelona were hoping to get rid of one, or both of them to generate sales.
Barcelona’s midfield, too, has a fair few superstars. Golden Boy winners Pedri and Gavi are deemed untouchable, as the club considers them as the future of their team. Ilkay Gundogan, meanwhile, just arrived, and at 33, will likely not generate enough fee.
The Frenkie de Jong case
This is where Frenkie de Jong comes in. The Dutchman is turning 27 this year, and is among the best players in the world at what he does. Fortunately for Barcelona, his role in the team is largely replicable.
Further, as SPORT reports, de Jong is the highest paid player in the squad, with his salary reaching over €20 million across the next two seasons. Barcelona are in no condition to pay that much money to a single player right now.
Barcelona are not particularly convinced with his performances, either. While he has been one of the most consistent performers under Xavi last season and this, and previously under Ronald Koeman, he is not quite the difference-maker Gundogan, Pedri, and Gavi have proven to be.
The Catalans even attempted to renegotiate his contract, offering an extension until 2029, but the agreement has been deemed impossible right now.
Given the fact that Barcelona need to sell nearly €100 million-worth of players in the coming window to go back to the 1:1 levels, Frenkie de Jong could definitely be one of the players offloaded.
Several top teams interested
Barcelona had previously already attempted to sell de Jong to Manchester United back in 2022. The Red Devils had tabled an offer worth €85 million, including add-ons, which was accepted by the blaugranes.
De Jong, however, refused to leave. United are still interested in signing him, but it seems unlikely that he will leave for a club not expected to be playing in the Champions League next season.
Chelsea, too, are interested, and would be willing to offer €100 million-plus for the former Ajax man. However, they too, will likely not make it into the Champions League positions by the end of the season.
This is where PSG comes in. De Jong had previously rejected the French giants back in 2019 when he chose Barcelona, but the Ligue 1 champions are still ready to pursue a deal for him come summer, and definitely have the funds to table €100 million for his services.
