Barcelona accused of 'extortion' to force De Jong out

The Frenkie de Jong-FC Barcelona transfer saga has taken a very dark turn. The player has refused to entertain the advances of other clubs, despite strong interest from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. The club has confirmed that the player will stay for the coming campaign, but it seems like they are using "dirty tricks" to force De Jong to renegotiate his salary.

To be clear, De Jong has an existing contract with FC Barcelona until 2026. This is a renewal that was signed back in 2020. It is this same contract that is now being questioned by the current Barcelona board.

According to a report by The Athletic, club president Joan Laporta and the current crop of club executives are seeking to annul the Dutchman's extension deal. That particular contract was signed under the previous board led by Josep Maria Bartomeu.

According to Laporta's board, De Jong's contract extension has "irregularities" which may deem the whole transaction illegal. However, the exact details of such irregularities have not been made known to the public.

One thing is clear, Barcelona want De Jong to revert to the terms of his previous contract, the one which is effective until 2024 prior to the two-year extension. The player's camp was made aware of the club's claims on July 15, with Barcelona apparently saying that they have evidence of "wrongdoing" in relation to the transaction between the previous board and De Jong's representatives.

The two year extension was essentially a restructuring of his salary similar to deals made with the likes of Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen at the time when Barcelona's financial problems first came to light.

Basically, the club added two years to his contract as a way to defer the payment for the salary that he was originally owed from the remainder of his original contract. That deferred amount is believed to be 18 million euros, which is meant to be spread out for the next four seasons until 2026.

Barcelona are apparently keen to investigate alleged illegal actions made by Laporta's board, which may have involved De Jong and his representatives. It is unclear if the player was presented with any evidence that supports these alleged irregularities.

Dutch Player's Union president Evgeniy Levchenko thinks that De Jong is being subjected to "extortion" by his own club. FIFPRO, a global player's union has also caught wind of the situation. It is unclear if they will get involved to help protect the player.