Barcelona considering Josep Maria Bartomeu tactic to solve Frenkie de Jong issue

Barcelona will continue in their efforts to lower Frenkie de Jong’s salary, which is causing havoc with their salary limit.

After the Dutchman refused to move last summer, Barcelona have to persuade de Jong to lower his salary persistently, without any success.

MEN say that de Jong is perhaps changing his stance on a move, although publicly de Jong has maintained he wants to remain at Barcelona for years to come. For their part, Sporting Director Jordi Cruyff has told the press that they are not discussing the sale of de Jong.

However they are still trying to lower his wages. Sport say that one of the solutions being considered is to offer de Jong a longer term renewal and spread out the money over a longer contract, which would aid them in their bid to fit inside the salary limit.

This, of course, is what got Barcelona into this mess. With the pandemic pinching Barcelona’s finances, ex-President Josep Maria Bartomeu handed out several new contracts to Barcelona’s biggest earners. The implication being that he pushed a lot of that money down the line, but also gave those players unsustainable pay rises. If Barcelona were to renew de Jong, there is no reason to assume they would do so on such ruinous terms, but it is certainly the same concept.