OK, so I've already stated that I don't think anybody on here really knows for sure what's going on with this deal. With that said, here is my best guess as to what the hold up is:
I believe that, regarding the wages De Jong and his agents agreed to defer, there is likely to be a stipulation or clause in his contract which legally speaking is somewhat open to interpretation. De Jong's camp will believe he is entitled to the money he deferred for the past few seasons even in the event of a move, whilst Barca will argue that any transfer would waive his rights to that money. If you want precedent for this situation at FC Barcelona, look no further than the Messi debacle in the summer of 2020, when it looked to be a very real possibility that Messi was going to take his beloved club to court over a condition in his contract which he believed would allow him to leave for free that window.
I think this is the most likely reason for the sudden hold-up in our negotiations for De Jong because the other possible scenarios don't stack up in my head and involve stupidity of cataclysmic proportions. Should it be the case that De Jong is, without a shadow of a doubt, legally entitled to that money regardless of whether he left, there would be no sane reason for Barca to fight him on it. It suits them to have De Jong off the books as quickly as possible, and if they were aware that any legal battle over these unpaid wages would be futile then all that their dicking around would serve to do is jeopardise a deal they appear keen to have completed.
On the other hand, should De Jong lose his entitlement to the deferred wages in the event of a move, one would have to concede that his agency was stupid enough to agree to such a ridiculous arrangement in the first place. To add insult to injury, they'd also have to have the brass neck to try to push through a move which would see De Jong leave his dream club AND lose €17 million in deferred wages owing to a deal that they were stupid enough to sanction. If that is indeed the case, you can expect to see De Jong with a new agent very soon if he has an ounce of sense.
So that's my two cents on the situation. It's all guesswork loosely based on what we've heard from the reliable sources in recent days/weeks; I don't pretend that I have any certainty regarding this deal because I don't believe very many people do. I welcome anybody to pick holes in what I've written; it's probably a load of drivel when placed under the spotlight.
I believe that, regarding the wages De Jong and his agents agreed to defer, there is likely to be a stipulation or clause in his contract which legally speaking is somewhat open to interpretation. De Jong's camp will believe he is entitled to the money he deferred for the past few seasons even in the event of a move, whilst Barca will argue that any transfer would waive his rights to that money. If you want precedent for this situation at FC Barcelona, look no further than the Messi debacle in the summer of 2020, when it looked to be a very real possibility that Messi was going to take his beloved club to court over a condition in his contract which he believed would allow him to leave for free that window.
I think this is the most likely reason for the sudden hold-up in our negotiations for De Jong because the other possible scenarios don't stack up in my head and involve stupidity of cataclysmic proportions. Should it be the case that De Jong is, without a shadow of a doubt, legally entitled to that money regardless of whether he left, there would be no sane reason for Barca to fight him on it. It suits them to have De Jong off the books as quickly as possible, and if they were aware that any legal battle over these unpaid wages would be futile then all that their dicking around would serve to do is jeopardise a deal they appear keen to have completed.
On the other hand, should De Jong lose his entitlement to the deferred wages in the event of a move, one would have to concede that his agency was stupid enough to agree to such a ridiculous arrangement in the first place. To add insult to injury, they'd also have to have the brass neck to try to push through a move which would see De Jong leave his dream club AND lose €17 million in deferred wages owing to a deal that they were stupid enough to sanction. If that is indeed the case, you can expect to see De Jong with a new agent very soon if he has an ounce of sense.
So that's my two cents on the situation. It's all guesswork loosely based on what we've heard from the reliable sources in recent days/weeks; I don't pretend that I have any certainty regarding this deal because I don't believe very many people do. I welcome anybody to pick holes in what I've written; it's probably a load of drivel when placed under the spotlight.
