Barcelona make desperate €75m plea to land fourth and fifth signings
Barcelona's financial troubles are seeing them struggle to register new players
Football Club Barcelona's major summer transfer business could hinge on one deal: Frenkie de Jong's move to Manchester United. The arrivals of the Catalan club's primary targets, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde, rest on the Dutch midfielder's departure.
The Red Devils have prioritised a move for De Jong since the start of the transfer window. The two clubs have been in talks for a number of weeks, despite Barcelona's mixed signals. First they wanted to sell the Dutchman, and then it was communicated that he was not for sale.
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta's initial defiance has softened, with the Spanish side now accepting United's latest offer. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Premier League giants and Catalan outfit have reached an agreement. The former will reportedly be paying an initial €75 million upfront with a further €10 million in add-ons.
It is clear that the decision to sell De Jong was based on the club's economic situation rather than a sporting one. FC Barcelona has also had to resort to selling 25% of their future TV rights to generate funds to help with their crippling debt.
However, despite the two clubs reaching an agreement, De Jong's stance remains firm over his desire to remain at the Camp Nou. The Netherlands international has no intention moving to England. Moreover, there is also the issue of the €17 million in deferred payments owed to the Dutchman by Barcelona.
Nothing changed on de Jong side. He has still no intention to leave, while Manchester United and Barça agreed €85m fee add-ons included 🔴🇳🇱 #FCB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 14, 2022
Frenkie’s priority has always been to stay, while Man Utd are not giving up.
His agent told player position to Barça yesterday 🚨⤵️ https://t.co/0aWdyA7xCL
FC Barcelona are desperate for De Jong to leave, as it will not only free up their over-inflated wage bill, but also bring in much needed revenue to further strengthen the squad. The Catalan giants are struggling to register new arrivals, while also being unable to make improved offers for Lewandowski or Kounde.
Update #Lewandowski: Intensive training session today. Now finish. 31 degrees. Lewy in top form and totally involved. Talks with Gnabry, Kimmich, Vidovic. Salihamidzic watched parts of the training from the balcony. Still waiting of Barcelona … @SkySportDE 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/ZrcxYqUtsj
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 14, 2022
As it stands, the Bayern Munich forward will remain in Germany until Barcelona make an improved offer. Similarly, talks with Sevilla to sign Kounde have been pushed as Laporta does not have the necessary funds to lodge a bid for the €60 million-rated centre-back.
Raphinha is expected to be unveiled as Barcelona's third signing after the club reached an agreement with Leeds United. However, at the moment they are unable to register the Brazilian as they are still over La Liga's Financial Fair Play regulations.
