Barcelona are weighing up whether to take Frenkie de Jong on their pre-season tour tomorrow

Barcelona considering leaving Frenkie De Jong AT HOME for their pre-season tour tomorrow as they pressure him into accepting £71.5m Man United move in a desperate cash grab

  • Frenkie de Jong is embroiled in a stand-off with Barcelona, who want him to go 
  • Manchester United have now agreed a deal for the midfielder, their prime target 
  • But with the switch not complete, the Blaugrana may not take him on pre-season 
  • De Jong does not want to leave the club and he is owed £17m in deferred wages

Barcelona are contemplating leaving Frenkie de Jong on the tarmac as they fly off to Miami for their pre-season tour this weekend, if he does not sign for Manchester United.

The sale of De Jong will give Barcelona a huge financial boost in their bid to get the go-ahead from La Liga to sign and register new players but the 25-year-old Dutch international does not want to leave the club.

Barca have told him they cannot pay him the money his contract stipulates he should earn next season.

Barcelona are weighing up whether to take Frenkie de Jong on their pre-season tour tomorrow

Barcelona are weighing up whether to take Frenkie de Jong on their pre-season tour tomorrow

And their problems go beyond the player’s wages. They have presented Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Ousmane Dembele and signed Raphinha, but cannot register any of them without the Dutchman’s departure.

United have agreed to pay a fee of £63million rising to just over £70m for De Jong. That is as much as Barcelona paid for him in 2019.

In recent days Barcelona president Joan Laporta has talked up paying for the new recruits but selling off a second chunk of future TV rights. But the club are now saying they also need the sale of the top-earning Dutch international before they can unlock their financial stalemate.

The midfielder is being pressured to leave the club, with Manchester United agreeing a deal

The midfielder is being pressured to leave the club, with Manchester United agreeing a deal

De Jong’s wages are a remnant of the huge overspends of previous president Josep Bartomeu.

De Jong had agreed to sign for Paris Saint Germain in 2019 when then Barcelona president Bartomeu flew to Amsterdam to persuade him to join the Catalan club.

Part of the job of convincing was done by a succulent salary set to rise the longer he stayed at the club. Some wages were deferred through the pandemic but he is now set to earn £17m net this coming season and as much as £21.2m the following campaign.

Barcelona have been cut more slack by LaLiga regarding their squad spend this season but registering Kessie, Christensen, Dembele and Raphinha and signing Robert Lewandowski still depends on them unlocking funds via new asset sell-offs (TV rights or the club’s merchandising arm) or the sale of top earners such as De Jong.

United CEO Richard Arnold (above) was pictured in Spain attempting to wrap up the transfer

United CEO Richard Arnold (above) was pictured in Spain attempting to wrap up the transfer

De Jong, seen in training this week, is in a stand-off with his club over £17m in deferred wages

De Jong, seen in training this week, is in a stand-off with his club over £17m in deferred wages

De Jong has told team-mates he had no intention of leaving the club having just bought a new apartment for him and his girlfriend in the city. Barcelona know any threats of freezing him out of the pre-season tour could leave them open to accusations of illegally denying an employee the right to do his job.

Barcelona set off for the US on Saturday with games against Inter Miami, New York Red Bull, Juventus and Real Madrid lined up.

Club president Joan Laporta will join the team and sign the agreement with American investment firm Sixth Street Partners, announced last week, for the sale of 10 per cent of their TV rights over the next 25 years.

The deal for £175m was announced last week but does not go far enough, hence Laporta’s urgency to lease off more of the club future earnings and sell a high earner.

Erik ten Hag identified the Dutchman as one of his priority targets for his Old Trafford rebuild

Erik ten Hag identified the Dutchman as one of his priority targets for his Old Trafford rebuild

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