Frenkie de Jong | The last muppeting lap

Frenkie to United?

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antohan said:
Nah, European clubs won't start doing that systematically because Manchester United only have the bandwidth and budget for one pet peeve per summer.
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Yeah, it's also clear based on Antony and Timber that we have our limits for how much we're willing to pay for any random player.

Still, won't be sad if we stop dealing with Barcelona in future based on this.
 
croadyman said:
Right up until 11pm on Sept 1
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Some transfers take time to get through. Really late arrivals are usually announced the next morning. Should at least give it to 8am on the 2nd if you're going right to the death.
 
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Ted Lasso said:
Not sure the Bruno stuff fits in this conversation. Variances in pay within a football team is the norm as is how much of a transfer fee the player commands. If Bruno wants to get paid more that's his negotiation to be had. He's not getting paid less because another player comes in.

It's a different story if United as a club decides to define salary caps as a standard by which we sign players. That's a whole different conversation and should be had irrespective of the FDJ negotiations.

It may be helpful to understand my opinion by taking a step back:
If it became clear that FDJ was not a viable option either because of the fee or dispute around his owed pay, United should have pulled out earlier on. There has been zero new developments in the last two months except for Barca signing more players.

The fact that we persisted on this particular deal signals the importance of the player to ETH and belief that he will come if the money is sorted.

As much as I disapprove of Barcelona's behavior here and am loath letting them get away with it, I would rather take care of our clubs needs first. At this stage, we would lose more by not spending an extra £17M and signing him (if that is possible). It very well could be the difference between top 4 and trophies and not. And it could mean missing him in a different window should another suitor come. (most posters seem to think the likes of Sangare, Ruiz, and Neves are trash in comparison)

Still all of that is a moot point. If ETH sanctions paying all of that for FDJ then it's on him to get the best out of him and make the squad comfortable with the decision.
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I have 3 main worries about this mess.

A- Barca had been able to lure top players because of the ridiculous salaries they offered. To give you some perspective Ronaldo is on a 500k a week. That was the highest salary United had ever given. Griezmann on the other hand was on a 575k a week while Messi was on a 1m a week. That gave them a key advantage over us let alone on other clubs like Juventus, Liverpool or Bayern who wouldn't dream of paying those salaries. If they managed to find suckers like us, who are willing to pay the salaries of their unwanted players, then it will act as an incentive for them to do it again and again. This might set a very dangerous precedent in football

B- Barca are in this mess mostly because of the 1m per week given to Messi. Basically every player at Barca gauged his salary over that of Messi. For example Griezmann would be right in expecting getting paid half of what Messi earned simply because in his prime he was considered at least half as good as Messi was. We had a similar situation with Sanchez as well. Players simply came knocking at the gaffer's door asking for a fair salary as compared to that of the Chilean. Will that happen again with De Jong? I think it would especially since we're increasing De Jong's salary not for what he did on our pitch but on what he did for Barca.

C- While I would like the manager to be backed there comes a time when the board must make a stand. It shows that they know what they are doing and that the manager won't get away with anything he wants. This is one of the few times when I think its the case. Having us footing De Jong's bill for services while at Barca is bonkers. Someone should remind ETH that there's a bigger football world than the farmer's league he just came out from.
 
antohan said:
Nah, European clubs won't start doing that systematically because Manchester United only have the bandwidth and budget for one pet peeve per summer.
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In that case I am glad that clubs would see us as a unique type of suckers. No wonder why even Ajax who were defacto the selling club per excellence are trying to take us to the cleaners.
 
If we do end up getting him i wonder if ten hag immediately slots him in or takes time to integrate him, he's had a preseason so in theory he should be physically fit.
 
devilish said:
In that case I am glad that clubs would see us as a unique type of suckers. No wonder why even Ajax who were defacto the selling club per excellence are trying to take us to the cleaners.
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When it comes to sucking at executing transfers we are the GOATs, I don't think it's debatable.
 
Laurencio said:
Some transfers take time to get through. Really late arrivals are usually announced the next morning. Should at least give it to 8am on the 2nd if you're going right to the death.
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Obviously hoping it gets done before then and are instead trying to get a RB and ST on the last day
 
antohan said:
When it comes to sucking at executing transfers we are the GOATs, I don't think it's debatable.
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true

antohan said:
Something tells me he is not coming and it will all boil down to this.
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I think he'll come. We're too desperate for him not to come. Its amazing that noone at the club hasn't pulled ETH at a side and told him that the Dutch league is actually quite crap and that there's a far better football world than that
 
We’re all just sticking around for the end now even though we all know how it ends

Is there anyone on here who still genuinely believes he’s coming? And not just saying it as a weird joke
 
devilish said:
As said I find this idea of paying a player for the services rendered at another club as disgusting and quite frankly dangerous as well. I hope that it won't set a precedent were teams will sign players because they offered ridiculous contracts only to expect prospective buyers to foot the bill for that
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Yup agreed. I really hope we have some semblance of a wage structure going forward. Happy to let this be a one-off as long as the wages aren't totally outrageous (400k+ p/w).

I know your other points re: how can you get a player who doesn't want to come without overpaying but I am optimistic that we will pay around his current wage (350k p/w) when everything's said and done.
 
devilish said:
I have 3 main worries about this mess.

A- Barca had been able to lure top players because of the ridiculous salaries they offered. To give you some perspective Ronaldo is on a 500k a week. That was the highest salary United had ever given. Griezmann on the other hand was on a 575k a week while Messi was on a 1m a week. That gave them a key advantage over us let alone on other clubs like Juventus, Liverpool or Bayern who wouldn't dream of paying those salaries. If they managed to find suckers like us, who are willing to pay the salaries of their unwanted players, then it will act as an incentive for them to do it again and again. This might set a very dangerous precedent in football

B- Barca are in this mess mostly because of the 1m per week given to Messi. Basically every player at Barca gauged his salary over that of Messi. For example Griezmann would be right in expecting getting paid half of what Messi earned simply because in his prime he was considered at least half as good as Messi was. We had a similar situation with Sanchez as well. Players simply came knocking at the gaffer's door asking for a fair salary as compared to that of the Chilean. Will that happen again with De Jong? I think it would especially since we're increasing De Jong's salary not for what he did on our pitch but on what he did for Barca.

C- While I would like the manager to be backed there comes a time when the board must make a stand. It shows that they know what they are doing and that the manager won't get away with anything he wants. This is one of the few times when I think its the case. Having us footing De Jong's bill for services while at Barca is bonkers. Someone should remind ETH that there's a bigger football world than the farmer's league he just came out from.
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How does this have anything to do with us?

If anything, other than Ronaldo, we’ve stopped giving out huge contracts since the Sanchez mess.

I do think it’s smart to have a hard budget for wages for the entire squad. It allows the manager to operate within a set of guidelines and to build the squad in his image, but within budget.

I’m actually less convinced that Frenkie will come to United. With the ability to register new signings, Barca can play hardball with Frenkie and refuse to pay his deferred wages for the move. He’s also well within his right to stay and collect his wages.

The smart move for ETH would have been to move on to another target early in the discussions, before Barca raised this extra cash and gained the additional flexibility. That would have forced Barca’s hand and they may have solved the deferred wages issue early on.

Also, shame on ETH and Murtagh for not having a plan B. If only one player in the world can fit your system, that’s not much of a system now, is it?
 
Loony BoB said:
Yeah, it's also clear based on Antony and Timber that we have our limits for how much we're willing to pay for any random player.

Still, won't be sad if we stop dealing with Barcelona in future based on this.
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We wouldn’t be in with a chance of signing De Jong if we weren’t willing to overpay.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
We’re all just sticking around for the end now even though we all know how it ends

Is there anyone on here who still genuinely believes he’s coming? And not just saying it as a weird joke
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Yes just look through these last few pages and there are 5/6 who consistently say he's coming
 
DSG said:
How does this have anything to do with us?

If anything, other than Ronaldo, we’ve stopped giving out huge contracts since the Sanchez mess.

I do think it’s smart to have a hard budget for wages for the entire squad. It allows the manager to operate within a set of guidelines and to build the squad in his image, but within budget.

I’m actually less convinced that Frenkie will come to United. With the ability to register new signings, Barca can play hardball with Frenkie and refuse to pay his deferred wages for the move. He’s also well within his right to stay and collect his wages.

The smart move for ETH would have been to move on to another target early in the discussions, before Barca raised this extra cash and gained the additional flexibility. That would have forced Barca’s hand and they may have solved the deferred wages issue early on.

Also, shame on ETH and Murtagh for not having a plan B. If only one player in the world can fit your system, that’s not much of a system now, is it?
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I might be wrong on this but I think we're agreeing with one another
 
Niemans said:
Barcelona want to sell him anyway. If the player wants to stay, Barcelona can not do anything.
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Exactly, and that's the crux of this whole problem isn't it?

Why would he wants to continue when the club doesn't want him anymore? Why wouldn't he leave?
 
Mickeza said:
Seems very likely he’s leaving Barcelona doesn’t it? What have I missed?
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Barcelona have sold another 25% of their tv rights which means they can now afford to register all the players they’ve signed, now they’re after Silva from City also.

Not sure if they can afford De Jong’s wages or want him to take a pay cut/move on as a matter of principle now as he’s one of the last big earners at the club.

Barcelona will have to actually force him out of the club now for this transfer to go ahead, and that’s also dependant on no one else being willing to match United’s bid, which it seems for now no one else is.
 
Cypriot said:
We've definitely seen a different tone from Laporta and the media today. I'd say this is going to start progressing quickly.
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Always said that they will get their own business done before letting him go. I.e. negotiating a settlement with him and his agent.
 
devilish said:
I have 3 main worries about this mess.



B- Barca are in this mess mostly because of the 1m per week given to Messi. Basically every player at Barca gauged his salary over that of Messi. For example Griezmann would be right in expecting getting paid half of what Messi earned simply because in his prime he was considered at least half as good as Messi was. We had a similar situation with Sanchez as well. Players simply came knocking at the gaffer's door asking for a fair salary as compared to that of the Chilean. Will that happen again with De Jong? I think it would especially since we're increasing De Jong's salary not for what he did on our pitch but on what he did for Barca.
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I find this quite a miss conception. There is no job in the world paying for the best in the world only double what people half as good become.
If in my job (UC Architect) I am looking at the best guy world wide and I am very decent at my job, maybe at least half as good as the best, I will still earn much much much less than the best and that is deserved.
 
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