Barcelona will no longer attempt to reduce Frenkie de Jong’s salary. The midfielder’s contract will be ‘respected’, promises chairman Joan Laporta in an interview with Cadena SER. The club is thinking of getting a new competitor for De Jong.
In the interview, Laporta is asked about the club’s much-discussed salary costs. “There are players who are going to leave. That has already helped us,” he looks ahead. “The players who come to Barcelona now do so within certain limits. In this way we ensure stability and balance. Players will no longer be called upon to agree to a reduced salary. We are not going to do anything with the current contracts. We will respect that.”
Barcelona recently tried not only to adjust De Jong’s contract, but also that of goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Still, Laporta hastens to say that Barcelona are “very happy” with the pair’s presence. “Neither player is for sale. Frenkie is a big name and is in the interest of several clubs, but he is not for sale,” the president clarifies. According to Laporta, the same applies to Ousmane Dembélé
Dembele has a contract until the summer of 2024. “When the time is right, we will deal with his contract extension,” said Laporta. “He is one of the most important players in the team. When he’s on the field, he always excels. Yesterday he scored a beautiful goal,” he referred to the difficult cup match with third division club CF Intercity.
Replacement for Busquets
The future of Sergio Busquets remains the subject of speculation. The veteran has an expiring contract. “He is one of our captains and we are very happy with him. He told me this morning that he will play his seven hundredth game for the club against Real Betis (next Thursday). He’s had offers from the United States and I know he’s thought about it, but basically he’s staying with us until the end of this season. Then we’ll talk,” assures the president.
Laporta does confirm that consideration is being given to finding a replacement for Busquets. For example, the name of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Rubén Neves is singing around. Joan wraps up the interview, mentioning, “Neves is a fantastic player, but that’s an internal matter. Busquets cannot go on forever and we are having internal discussions about finding a replacement for him. Frenkie de Jong can play in that position, but it’s not enough to have just one option. Xavi will make the decision on this.”
