Barcelona, through its sports secretariat led by Mateo Alemany and its presidency led by Joan Laporta, tried to get rid of Frenkie De Jong for the last two summers with the sole desire to avoid paying the economic amounts agreed in his contract that the player himself agreed to defer when Covid made a dent in the competition (which was stopped) and earnings.
SPORT has had access to the player's contract which denies some of the information that has been leaked about him. This is what SPORT uncovered:
Firstly, the Dutchman is not the player with the highest fixed salary in the squad, as Josep Maria Bartomeu signed him to a fixed contract of €18 million euros per season plus some variables, something that puts him below, for example, Robert Lewandowski, the highest paid player in the squad.
Crucial for Xavi Hernandez, and for all the coaches the player has had since his arrival at Barcelona, De Jong has always maintained his desire to stay at the club, despite the ups and downs he has had with the current board for the aforementioned reason: they wanted to sell him to avoid paying what he had forgiven them for previously.
This is the same reason that could delay any negotiations between the two parties today, as the club wants to defer his salary again in order to have more room for maneuver in the negotiations with LaLiga for the salary cap. De Jong has already deferred once and does not see it as clear to do so again, given Laporta's intentions over the last two summers.
Season 2020/21: 3 million euros
Season 2021/22: 9.6 million euros
Season 2022/23: 18 million euros
Season 2023/24: 18 million euros
Season 2024/25: 19 million euros
Season 2025/26: 19 million euros
It should be noted that De Jong was paid in the 2020/21 and 21/22 seasons as a player who had just come up from the reserve team on his arrival at Barcelona when, in the words of Josep Maria Bartomeu, he was "a strategic signing," as he is finally becoming.
This mismatch in his salary with his level and prestige as a player was motivated by Covid and De Jong's willingness to help Barça.
In return, he signed a loyalty bonus to compensate for this loss over the years.
If he finished the season 2021/22: 2.8 million euros.
If he finished the season 2022/23: 2.8 million euros
If he finishes the season 2023/24: 6,8 million euros
If he finishes the season 2024/25: 4,2 million euros
If he finishes the season 2025/26: 4 million euros
In the case of not fulfilling these seasons, Barça would save the Loyalty Bonus and this is the main reason why the economic decision took precedence over the sporting one, as Xavi Hernández was counting on him on a sporting level.
According to this Loyalty Bonus, the 23/24 season is the one in which he will receive the most money from the club because, as you can see, you have to add the 18 fixed plus the 6.8 loyalty bonus. To this figure should be added about 2 million of a variables depending on the games played. In total, a maximum (variable plus fixed) of 26.8 this season, a figure that will be lower next season, as the loyalty bonus is reduced by 2.6 million.
It should be borne in mind that one of the options that De Jong had over the last two summers was Manchester United, where, for reference, Casemiro receives 12.5 million euros net, more than what De Jong receives per season without taking into account what he forgave in his day.