FC Barcelona has in mind the offer it would accept for midfielder Frenkie de Jong according to Relevo transfer market expert Matteo Moretto, who cited anonymous sources.
The Dutchman has just suffered one of his most difficult weeks at the club since joining from Ajax in 2019.
Last Tuesday, he was singled out by some fans and pundits for not closing down Vitinha as the Portuguese equalized on aggregate during Barca’s eventual 6-4 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Then to close the weekend, the 26-year-old was brought off the Bernabeu turf on a stretcher before half time, as Xavi Hernandez’s men went on to lose El Clasico 3-2 to Real Madrid and pretty much cede their La Liga title to the Catalans’ bitter rivals.
In the days between those two fixtures, Moretto reported for Relevo that Bayern Munich were “knocking on the door” to ask about De Jong’s availability.
Relevo explained that the Bavarians will give their new head coach $160 million (€150 million) to spend, and that could be Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane who is just “one step away” from succeeding Thomas Tuchel at the Allianz Arena on June 30 according to Mundo Deportivo.
Relevo added that Barca needs to raise $106.5 million (€100 million) by that date, and Matteo has separately pointed out that the club could raise more than half of that sum via De Jong who it is willing sell for $74 million (€70 million).
This would see Barca lose $5 million on what they paid Ajax for De Jong after a breakout Champions League season, and also around $15 million on what they agreed to accept from Manchester United in 2022 according to The Athletic.
De Jong refused a reunion with his former boss Erik ten Hag because of the Red Devil’s lack of UCL football and a desire to succeed under Xavi Hernandez.
With Xavi on the outs like Tuchel at the end of the season, De Jong no longer has the chance to do that.
At the same time, however, he is under no obligation to move on given his contract doesn’t expire until mid-2026, yet this is the last summer that Barca can realistically cash on him because potential buyers would know that he is heading into the last 12 months of his deal a year from now.