The football professional, who wants to stay in Barcelona against the will of his club, accuses the club of “blackmail” and a “slander campaign”, reported Spanish trade newspapers such as “Mundo Deportivo” and “Sport” on Wednesday, citing De Jong’s environment.
The 25-year-old’s agents have already engaged lawyers who want to sue the league and the players’ union AFE against the club’s actions. Barcelona want to sell De Jong in view of high debts or at least persuade him to waive part of his salary in order to be able to afford expensive reinforcements such as Robert Lewandowski or Raphinha.
According to the media, there has long been an agreement with Manchester United for a transfer fee of 75 million euros plus bonus payments of up to another ten million. De Jong, who came from Ajax Amsterdam in 2019 for around 75 million euros, does not want to leave and fulfill his contract, which runs until June 2026.
Barcelona are now putting the professional under pressure with tougher means and are now even threatening legal action. The contract extension signed by De Jong and a previous club leadership in 2020 was illegal, they say.
Source: Nachrichten
