Barcelona sent a letter to Frenkie de Jong last July to warn him that, in his opinion, there are alleged irregularities in the renewal contract he signed in 2020, Barcelona sources confirmed to ESPN.
Sources from the footballer’s environment consulted by ESPN understand that the contract is legal and interpret that the letter from the Catalan club was a pressure measure for the Dutch midfielder to accept, or leave the Campo Nou or reduce his salary.
Barcelona had then reached an agreement in principle with Manchester United to sell De Jong for about 85 million euros (between fixed and variable) and needed that money to be able to register the new signings without breaking the salary limit imposed by LaLiga .
The second alternative proposed by the Catalan team to De Jong to continue at the Camp Nou was lower salary and last weekend some club sources assured ESPN that this would be the preference today for both the president Joan Laporta as of a Xavi Hernandez that considers the footballer to cover different gaps.
However, if De Jong does not agree to leave or lower his salary, the same sources do not rule out that the club inform him that he does not have room in the team, this to increase the pressure.
In October 2020, with Joseph Maria Bartomeu As president, De Jong has already taken a pay cut, deferring part of his salary and extending his contract until 2026.
Barça understands that there were certain irregularities in that renewal but at the same time other players Marc André Ter Stegen, Gerard Piqué and Clement Lenglet also signed similar agreements to help the club with its liquidity problems.
Manchester United is the club that has shown the most interest in De Jong to date and Barça even agreed to sell him to the Old Trafford club for around 85 million euros between fixed and variable. Chelsea has also shown interest in the player but for the moment there has been no formal offer from the London club to sign him.
De Jong, as reported by ESPN, wants to continue at the Camp Nou and has insisted on several occasions that he does not want to go to a club like Manchester United, which this season will not play in the Champions League.