BARCELONA have reportedly offered Frenkie de Jong an ultimatum – accept a wage reduction or leave the club.
Manchester United have been pursuing the midfielder all summer and had a £71.5million bid accepted by the Spanish giants.
But it is proving difficult for the Red Devils to persuade De Jong to join since he is happy at Barcelona and wishes to play Champions League football.
So Barca are trying to force him out by telling the Dutchman he only has a future at the Nou Camp if he reduces his salary, report Cope.
Barcelona already owe De Jong £17m in unpaid wages after the midfielder agreed to defer the payment of his salary during the pandemic.
Yet the club is asking him to accept a pay cut – in a summer when they have spent big sums on the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
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Now Barcelona are attempting to hijack Chelsea's £55m move for Jules Kounde but telling De Jong they cannot afford his contract.
De Jong's departure would reportedly save Barca £34m in wages.
Add to that his hefty transfer fee and Barcelona would likely be able to register new signings including Frank Kessie and Andreas Christensen.
De Jong could still decide to stay however as he is reportedly only willing to leave for one club – Chelsea.
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But the Blues have not matched United's bid and are hesitant to do business with Barca after losing out on Raphinha and possibly Kounde too.
The Spanish outfit had been in negotiations to sign Chelsea's defensive duo of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
But the furious Blues have decided to end negotiations with them and are reportedly refusing to do business with Barcelona.
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