Barcelona want Frenkie de Jong to take ‘drastic’ pay cut - report

Barcelona reportedly want midfielder Frenkie de Jong to take a “drastic” pay cut if he is to stay at the club.

President Joan Laporta has said this weekend that Barca have no intention of selling the Dutchman but did suggest the Catalans want him to reduce his salary.

Marca reckon that if De Jong does continue at the Camp Nou next season he will end up costing the club a total of €40 million.

Laporta therefore considers a pay cut “an essential condition” for De Jong to stay but knows the midfielder may find it difficult to accept even though he wants to continue.

Fabrizio Romano also seems to think De Jong won’t be too happy to have his wages reduced.

De Jong was one of four Barcelona players to sign a contract extension at Barcelona back in October 2020 along with Gerard Pique, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Clement Lenglet.

The midfielder has said recently he’d be happy to sign another extension if it was offered too in an interview with Ziggo Sport in March. “I love being at Barcelona,” he said. “I’d probably sign a six-year contract extension if they’d propose me, yes.”

All of which means that De Jong’s future remains uncertain despite the president’s words on Saturday. There’s no doubt the midfielder wants to stay but it looks like he will be under a fair bit of pressure to reduce his contract when he returns from his holiday.