Frenkie de Jong has criticised reports suggesting that Barcelona may be open to selling him this summer due to their difficult financial situation.
The Athletic reported that Barca sources had suggested that the club would essentially be open to good offers on any of its players bar a very select few.
Reports elsewhere had suggested Barcelona are looking to sell the 26-year-old midfielder, whose contract expires in the summer of 2026, to ease their financial issues.
The Netherlands international has responded by calling out sections of the media for publishing “lies” about his situation and declaring that it remains his dream to play for the Spanish club.
Speaking ahead of his side’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie against Napoli on Wednesday, he said: “If I’m honest, I am getting quite irritated lately. I am very angry at what you (media) write or say about me. There are a lot of stories that are simply not true. I simply can’t get my head around it. Some of you write lies all the time and I don’t get how you are not ashamed about it.
“There’s a lot of talk about my contract situation and my salary. There’s a lot of smoke in there and plenty of lies. You the media are saying that I earn around €40m per year… this is really far from the truth. I am not going to reveal figures, but that’s simply lying. I am really happy here. Barcelona was and is the club of my life, it was my dream to play here and it still is.
“I am not happy with the press and everything that surrounds the club because, as I’ve been saying, it’s full of lies.”
Wednesday’s Champions League game is crucial not only to Barca’s chances of winning silverware but also to easing their money worries. As it stands, they will have to raise significant revenues to bring themselves in line with La Liga’s financial rules before 2024-25.
On Tuesday, La Liga further cut Barca’s permitted salary limit, from €648million (£553m; $697m at current rates) last year to a new figure of €204m.
Barcelona’s real squad cost for 2023-24 — the total of salaries and transfer amortisations — is officially budgeted at €492million. As they have exceeded their level, La Liga rules say they must make cuts before signing any more players.
This is not the first time that De Jong’s future at Barcelona has come into question. The Athletic reported in 2022 that Barcelona had threatened legal action over De Jong’s contract wishing to annul his contract and return to the deal he was on previously before.
The midfielder, who joined the club from Ajax in the summer of 2019 , has made 24 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions this season.
What happens now?
Frenkie de Jong was set to be ready for a big summer ahead of him.
With two years remaining in his current contract, and being one of the highest earners among the squad, club sources had briefed in recent weeks about a proposal from the club to extend his contract. Same sources acknowledged that, in case of not accepting a new contract, they would be open to study offers for the midfielder before getting into the last year of his contract at the club.
Tension and rumors on how damaging his wages were for the financial constraint Barcelona are in have been a common theme in recent years. A lot of those narratives have been ignited by club sources most of the times, but the Dutch midfielder showed with brutal honesty he did not want to stay silent.
Back in summer 2022, De Jong lived through a tense transfer window with his position at the club in dispute.
Now that there were multiple inputs around Barcelona pointing towards a similar situation, De Jong stepped up to make his voice heard. It’s surely not going to be the last episode on De Jong’s saga for the coming months.
GO DEEPER
La Liga reduces Barcelona’s spending cap to €204m
(Getty Images)
