FC Barcelona has been going through a better period for a few weeks. His accounts have been rectified following the sale of part of his TV rights, but also the transfers of Philippe Coutinho and Ferran Jutglà. This allowed him to afford the services of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, and finally extend Ousmane Dembélé. It’s not over as Xavi is still crying out for a top centre-back. Jules Koundé is on track to be that reinforcement.
For the rest of the events, it will also be necessary to find a solution to the Frenkie de Jong file. The Dutch midfielder is unwilling to leave Barca, even though he is arguably one of the club’s biggest marketers. Manchester United is doing everything to get it, offering up to €85m! An almost unexpected sum for the culé direction, which pushes the Dutchman to join the Red Devils. Except he doesn’t want it and neither does his family.
A sale of Ter Stegen rather than De Jong?
Even if Erik ten Hag, his former coach at Ajax, has recently taken up the position on the bench at Old Trafford, De Jong will not go to Manchester, due to lack of will and lack of qualification for the Champions League. He did, however, open the door for Chelsea, only the Blues are unwilling to put in as much money as their Premier League counterpart. Xavi would prefer to keep him, while being aware that his protege’s salary is a problem. He asked him to go from 30 to 20 M€ gross annually, the only condition to keep him and stay in the nails of La Liga’s financial fair play.
Not sure that the international oranje accedes to all the requests of his coach and at Barça, we are planning a backup plan to put fresh money back in the coffers. Management identified another roster element with the same circumstances as De Jong: an important player in the squad with a big salary, with a significant market value; therefore transferable. According to information from the Being Chainshe targeted Marc-Andre ter Stegen as the right person to sell, in case De Jong stays in Catalonia.
The German goalkeeper receives 7 M€ net per year. It represents one of the most important salaries in the locker room, especially since it will increase until the end of his contract in 2025. At 30, he has already entered the second half of his career, while maintaining a certain rating on the market. Once considered one of the best in the world in his position, he has been less imperial for two years and his departure was already mentioned not so long ago within the Blaugranas. According Sporta departure from Ter Stegen would make way for Neto and young Iñaki Peña, who was successfully loaned to Galatasaray last season.
