Theresa May infamously once told a nurse who hadn't had a pay rise for eight years that 'there is no magic money tree'. The former Prime Minister was actually wrong because such a tree has been found at the Camp Nou, which is home to Barcelona.
It was claimed last year that Barcelona are €1.3 billion in debt and club president Joan Laporta even declared the club 'clinically dead' following his election after the previous regime condemned it to financial ruin. Lionel Messi was forced to leave Barcelona last summer due to their economic situation and incomings like Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero were signed on free transfers.
Barcelona played in the Europa League last season and it seemed it would take years for the club to return to the top of the table, considering their financial dire straits. But they've surprised the industry this summer by coming out swinging in the market.
The Catalan giants have signed Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds for a combined fee of almost £100m, while Laporta has openly talked about signing Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.
Barcelona are acting like a club in a strong financial position when that couldn't be further from the truth. That magic money tree is clearly bearing fruit, but it's not generating enough, as they need to sell Frenkie de Jong to raise some much-needed capital.
De Jong is considered an expendable asset at Barcelona and they desperately need the money from his sale, which is good news for Manchester United, who have made the player their top target. The bad news is, United agreed a deal in principle to sign De Jong weeks ago, but the move has been stalled by the wage deferral De Jong agreed to as part of a contract renewal in 2020.
Barcelona have endured financial difficulties for some time now and that was exacerbated by Covid-19. De Jong took a pay cut to help the club out during the pandemic, on the proviso he would then earn that money back over the next couple of seasons, which means if he were to leave this summer, he would still in theory be owed the money he is entitled to.
That has complicated the deal and it's the reason why there has been no recent progress to report. De Jong is now on pre-season tour with Barcelona, but there's a feeling that the club are trying to force him out, despite what they say in public.
Barcelona played Real Madrid in America on Sunday and De Jong was brought on at centre-back at half-time. Xavi was asked about De Jong after the game.
"We've had private conversations that are very important and that I will not reveal here," he said.
"He's a key player, but then there's the economic situation and Financial Fair Play. I'm not sending messages to anyone. I like him a lot as a player. Playing as a centre-back, he [De Jong] can give us a lot, he can adapt to that position. We want it that the centre-back distributes the ball and he does that very well."
Xavi's comments on De Jong playing at centre-back immediately caught the eye. The player stands at 5ft 9ins and he hardly has the physique to play at centre-back in the Premier League, but he's sporadically played in that position throughout his career. De Jong sometimes played there at Ajax under Erik ten Hag, in fact.
Should De Jong sign for United this summer, it is highly unlikely he will ever play at centre-back at Old Trafford, but his skillset explains why Ten Hag has prioritised signing him over a traditional defensive midfielder, which seemed the obvious priority.
Ten Hag wants De Jong to play deep in his midfield and to collect the ball in between the centre-backs. It is a brave approach, which lacks physicality and could eventually look foolish in matches against elite opposition, but that's how Ten Hag wants to play.
The United boss wants to control fixtures with possession and he views De Jong as a key to achieving that vision. Although starting yet another season without a defensive midfielder is a gamble, Ten Hag is keen to roll the dice with De Jong.