La Liga has informed Barcelona that they must lower their salary cost for the upcoming season. As a result, the Spanish powerhouses may be forced to sell several of their key players, including Frenkie de Jong.
This summer, it appeared that the Nou Camp team would be in exactly similar predicament, but they were able to sell off rights and other assets to fund the signings of players like Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, issued a warning that they might not be able to repeat that feat the following year. According to some estimations, Barcelona's debt may be close to $1 billion.
La Liga finance rules, which dictate the salary cap for each club ahead of the summer transfer window, forced Lionel Messi to leave La Blaugrana for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 amid the club’s financial woes.
There were rumours that the same could apply for De Jong this summer. United agreed a deal in principle for the midfielder in June before Barcelona’s unpaid wage debts to the player were uncovered.
The Dutchman also underlined that his preference was to stay with his employers after securing his “dream” career move in 2019. After a long and frustrating pursuit proved fruitless, United eventually landed Casemiro from Real Madrid for an initial £60m.
De Jong was Erik ten Hag’s primary transfer target when he arrived at Old Trafford and he may yet still get his man, thanks to Tebas’ stark warning to Barcelona ahead of next year. He explained how the Spanish club must reduce their wage bill drastically in order to comply with next season’s regulations.
“Barca has to reduce the wage bill,” he said (via the Express). “Next year there will be no levers and they will have to reduce the salary limit that may correspond to them, which will be 400-odd million euros.”