Barcelona considering two scenarios for megastar’s future as it would cost €77 million to keep him at club

With the summer transfer window a few months away, rumblings around the future of Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona have already begun to do the rounds.

The Netherlands international was almost forced out of the club in 2022 as the Catalans needed to lower their wage bill and generate revenue from sales. There were rumours last summer as well, but the idea of a sale was not considered.

However, heading into the summer window of 2024, the possibility of parting ways with De Jong appears to be back on the table.

De Jong will cost Barcelona €77 million over the next two seasons

As per a report from Marta Ramon of RAC1, it would cost Barcelona somewhere close to €77 million in total to keep him at the club on his current contract.

It is claimed that there is still €30 million to be amortised from his transfer fee and adding that to his salary, which has been inflated by the deferred payments from the Josep Maria Bartomeu era, the sum rises to around €77 million for the two years left on his contract.

In other words, De Jong will cost Barça almost €39 million per season on average from this summer onwards.

And, that is why the sporting department is considering two scenarios with De Jong’s future: either he renews his contract or he leaves for a very high transfer fee.

Scenario 1: Renewal with ‘rational’ salary

As has been reported already, Barcelona have already sent a renewal offer to De Jong, but are yet to receive an answer from the midfielder.

According to sources that spoke to RAC1, the renewal offer De Jong has on the table does not include a salary reduction, but he would receive less money than he does now because he is receiving money deferred from the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.

If he renews, he would return to a “rational” salary, which would be in the region of €15 million.

Scenario 2: Leave for a big transfer fee

De Jong needs to decide. (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)

If De Jong does not renew, Barcelona would open the doors for his sale, that too for a big fee, with reports earlier today claiming they would demand €100 million at least.

Barça would need a high fee for the operation to be successful from an accounting point of view, but in terms of fair play, they would gain from the start because of the space that his departure would generate between salary and amortisation costs.

However, even if De Jong is sold for the aforementioned figure, Barcelona might need more revenue to achieve the 1:1 rule in the summer.

Waiting for a response

Barcelona now want to know De Jong’s intentions so that they can avoid the scenario wherein he enters 2025 without a defined future and can leave for free in 2026.

The Blaugrana have not yet had any news from the midfielder: neither in terms of renewing nor in terms of leaving. De Jong put down his foot and refused to leave in 2022, and he might do so again this summer. However, in that scenario, he will have to sign a renewal.