Over the last three weeks, there has been significant transfer talk/rumors regarding Frenkie de Jong and his future at Barcelona. Clubs connected to the rumor include Manchester United and Manchester City, as only clubs with significant resources could afford de Jong’s services. Barcelona, burdened with debt, believes the club may be forced to accept a transfer offer for de Jong to alleviate the club’s financial solvency crisis and help the club avoid bankruptcy. This article will lay out an alternative scenario in which the club raises the money that de Jong would bring in without sacrificing player who should play an integral role for the club in the next decade.
de Jong’s Role
While this situation, and Barcelona’s financial solvency as a whole, remains murky, the one factor that is clear is de Jong’s role in the Barcelona squad: but for injury or suspension, de Jong played in every match but one in La Liga this season (March 13 v. Osasuna). De Jong is a playmaking midfielder who has both defensive ball-winning qualities and box-to-box qualities going forward with exceptional passing skills in all areas of the game. De Jong, already a midfield mainstay at 25, would continue to be a key player in the Barcelona midfield for the next decade if he stayed with the club. A player with such quality and importance should not be sold without substantial scrutiny, particularly if the sale is financially motivated.
Financial Information
There are two components to the financial information that are critical in the de Jong transfer scenario: Barcelona’s financial state and de Jong’s financial impact on the club. Barcelona’s financial problems are well publicized: approximately 1.4 billion euros in debt, the club has been forced by La Liga to continue to cut its spending limit. Just to remain solvent, Barcelona was unable to re-sign Messi, has restructured a number of players contracts, and was initially unable to register its summer 2021 signings (Depay, Aguero, and Garcia) because the registrations would exceed the salary cap imposed by La Liga. Additionally, La Liga has instituted a 4 to 1 spending ratio for the Blaugrana, meaning that for every four euros brought in by transfer fees or saved on wages, Barcelona can only spend one euro. There’s no way to sugarcoat the Barcelona financial issue: it is dire and a potentially existential threat to the survival of the club.
De Jong, while not the most significant burden, contributes to Barcelona’s financial strain. In addition to the 86 million euro transfer fee (after add-ons) paid in summer 2019, de Jong is rumored to earn 10 million euros per year net (approximately 18 million euros gross) with possible bonuses and incentives on top of the salary. This means that de Jong’s five-year deal will cost Barcelona approximately 180 million euros; however, it is important to note that de Jong has been financial flexible with Barcelona: the Blaugrana currently owe de Jong approximately 7 million euros in deferred salary after an agreement to defer compensation to help Barcelona’s financial situation. Given de Jong’s previous transfer fee and performances at Barcelona, the Blaugrana could expect to receive a transfer fee at or above 100 million euros for de Jong, equating to approximately 7% of Barcelona’s outstanding debt.
Alternative transfers
Barcelona need to raise capital and while de Jong is the easiest path to raising capital, he is not the only path. Barcelona can raise capital through the transfer of other players and piece together the same 100 million plus euros that the de Jong transfer would bring in without losing a key player.
Memphis Depay – 30 million euros
Memphis was undoubtedly a top play for Barcelona, co-leading the team in scoring with 13 goals in all competitions this season. However, he co-led Barcelona in goals with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored the same number of goals in 16 fewer matches, having joined in January on a free from Arsenal. After Aubameyang and Ferran Torres joined in January, Memphis’ role in the first team and playing minutes significantly decrease as he was relegated to a bench role/substitute in many games. This bench role is likely to continue in the 2022/2023 season as Ansu Fati returns from injury. Memphis still has plenty of quality, score two goals in Netherlands 4-1 drubbing over Belgium, and a number of clubs would be interested in his services. With his contract up next summer, now may be the right time to cash out on a player that signed on a free transfer and use the profits to keep his international teammate, Frenkie de Jong.
Samuel Umtiti – 5 million euros
This one should be obvious, as Umtiti played in one game for Barcelona this season and was training with the Barcelona B Team at the end of the season. In Umtiti’s defense, Barcelona is pretty deep at center-back, with Araujo, Pique, Mingueza, Eric Garcia, and Lenglet all in front of him on the depth chart. Umtiti’s relegation to the Barcelona B trainings hurts his transfer value, but there are a number of teams, particularly Ligue 1 and newly-promoted Premier League teams, who may be willing to take a chance on the 28-year-old center-back if the price is right.
Clement Lenglet – 15 million euros
Lenglet was mentioned above as ahead of Umtiti on the depth chart, but given Barcelona’s youth and options at the back, Lenglet is an expendable player that may be used to raise funds. Lenglet played a bit part for Barcelona this season, starting in only three games after January 2022. It is clear that Barcelona has moved on from the former Sevilla man, but it is also clear that the French international can still contribute to a top team. Teams in Serie A and Bundesliga who may be looking to strength their back line may be interested in a 26-year-old center-back that is heading into his prime.
Riqui Puig – 15 million euros
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Riqui Puig can actually be a long-term bench player/contributor to the Barcelona midfield; however, Puig’s role is not established and he may be sacrificed in the name of Barcelona’s bottom line. The 22-year-old La Masia product appeared sparingly in the 2021/2022 season but has significant upside and the potential to develop into a starting central midfielder for many teams. Previously, Puig had been linked to Leeds, Roma, and a few La Liga teams, so Barcelona may be able to cash in and find a new home for the 22-year-old midfielder this summer.
Phillipe Coutinho – 20 million euros
Coutinho secured a move to Aston Villa last month for approximately 20 million euros. While Barcelona takes a huge loss on the transfer fee, the Blaugrana were able to get Coutinho’s massive wages off their books.
Conclusion
The above five players represent approximately 85 million euros in income, and their names are not the only ones mentioned as potential transfer targets. With wage savings from Ousmane Dembele and other potential transfer targets (Mingueza, Pjanic, Trincao, Griezmann, Manaj), Barcelona can make up the 100 million plus euros that they would likely get for de Jong. The only question is: do they have the will power to make these moves?
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