Guys I have a hunch, I reckon he will either stay with Barca or sign with us.
Frenkie de Jong | The last muppeting lap
- Thread starter davidmichael
- Start date
- Status
Ya you'd think his agent would have told us when Malacia was finalizing his deal at our offices.
Season over if he doesn't come.
I think 99% of fans, if not 100% understand and accept that he’d stay at Barça on his current deal in a perfect World.
I reckon he’d even likely accept a small pay reduction as long as he is reimbursed for his generosity over the past two seasons.
Neither of those things look at all likely.
Barca should not be able to buy new players. It's as simple as that. Pay your debts, struggle for a few years then come back again.
It's madness they're allowed to keep spiralling deeper and deeper
It's madness they're allowed to keep spiralling deeper and deeper
Also fair.
Fabregas was willing to leave if he wasn’t in the manager’s plans - then there was a change of manager that summer due to totally unforeseen circumstances and he was told he would be.
No we didn't i don't believe.
I think Fabregas was probably open to a move but Barca flat out rejected our advances, regardless of how much we offered. We had a bid knocked back and went again, then again, to the point where Barca wrote to us and told us to do one, before doing a press conference with Fabregas actually with them if i remember correctly
We did it with Vidal too
Not really. He told Moyes would come if he didn’t get playing time, but he started the first game of that season, played well and the rest is history.
From memory he’d given Moyes promises but it hinged on playing time with Barca?
Berger will claim that EtH never even wanted Frenkie next. In fact he's never even heard of Frenkie.
Correct. He also had no connection to Moyes
Exactly. He obviously would prefer to stay, but isn't against joining us. It's clear Barca want rid, and if i was him i would leave if the reports around his salary are true.
Exactly that.
Nah. We had briefed we didn't want Vidal in late July. The window in 2014 closed Sept 1.
Aa long as we get 40points....
Especially buying a player 34y.o player in lewandowski, who has no re-sale value when you already have a 33y.o fellow striker.
Leo Messis contracts was never THE issue by themselves. Barcelonas problems are all about Josep Maria Bartomeus insane incompetence. The Messi money could certainly have been better spent, but its just one of many contributing factors.
The man is single handedly responsible for the current financial situation of Barcelona, and its frankly outrageous that he is not in prison for the gross negligence he has displayed over the years.
Barcelona managed to put themselves in a situation where they straight up were paying more salary than they had income. Or, Bartomeu did.
Barcelonas transfer spend the last few years, in million £
2014/2015 150.05
2015/2016 45.90
2016/2017 112.28
2017/2018 337.05
2018/2019 126.99
2019/2020 270.90
2020/2021 100.80
19/20 saw Griezmann and Frenkie join the club. 17/18 saw Dembele and Coutinho.
The transfer spend is important because of the way Barcelona does transfers: In installments. They have sales as well which makes the picture better, but the balance books does nothing for the cash flow. Its why they still owe so much money to so many clubs.
During the pandemic, Barcelona flat out did not have money to pay salaries. With a wage bill larger than the annual income per year pre-covid, no one is remotely surprised that the well dried up real fast.
Where Real Madrid has a incredibly competent director in Florentino Perez (even if he is a dick), Barcelona have had to suffer a guy that spends money like a drunk sailor and closes his eyes, hoping it will all work out.
Barcelona lost nearly 500 million euro due to covid.
Due to the FFP regulations in Spain, which are a bit harsher than the ones UEFA put out, Barcelona had to let their biggest ever player leave for free. They couldnt even re-sign him if he played for nothing as Spanish law dictate that a new contract cant be less than 50% of the previous. Leo Messi did offer to take a 50% paycut to stay. I dont have a clear picture on ALL the Barcelona stars, but its smy impression that a lot of the oldtimers were well and ready to take large paycuts, and have done so.
All because of Bartomeu.
The players and everyone else at Barcelona are innocent in what has been the biggest mismanagement of a large business in sport history lead by one man in particular.
In the real world, Barcelona would have been put out of its misery by now.
Barcelona need the second lever to register the signings they make. This will take a few days still and then everything will go fast. Meanwhile nothing will move the FDJ issue except surprise.
The second half isn’t true. That’s on Laporta. Apparently he didn’t realise what the ins and outs of FFP were and wrote off assets as 0 that would normally have allowed them to spend more but it was -250 odd million and absolutely fecked it. Barca would still be in debt but at least they’re be allowed to operate as a proper football club without fecking themselves over like this. That’s on Laporta
I’m starting to feel pessimistic about this unfortunately. But I can’t see him lowering his salary.. and if he doesn’t do that, he has to leave.. (and if he leaves, I think we’ll get him)
Im holding out hope that the ‘I don’t want to leave’ is just him standing firm in the upcoming negotiations about reducing his fee as a way of controlling the negotiations. I’ve no fecking clue, but I struggle to believe we’d chase a player for so long without assurances that he’d join
Im holding out hope that the ‘I don’t want to leave’ is just him standing firm in the upcoming negotiations about reducing his fee as a way of controlling the negotiations. I’ve no fecking clue, but I struggle to believe we’d chase a player for so long without assurances that he’d join
This was never true.
Even if we ignore the De Jong example of him deferring 17m of wages in 2 years, where he took a paycut of 76% for 2020/21, Messi was not renegotiating a wage, nor taking a pay cut. Even under contract, nothing would have prevented Messi from taking similar cuts or 99% cuts till his career was over with a loyalty bonus in say 2030.
Messi was however no longer an employee and was out of contract, the was no wage to renegotiate nor “cut”.
There is no law to prevent an unemployed person accepting whatever wage he wants, well, 6500 eur a month is the minimum. I’ve seen a reference that the 50% thing comes from women’s football and the only PR mention of it anywhere else is from a journo called Miller, but I challenge you to find me that from another source, or better still, from law literature. You won’t be able to, it was PR bullshit that makes zero sense in a World in which players receive wages in the multiple millions of euros.
Hende why Laporta came out a few months later and said “I had hoped Messi would decide to play for free”.
Last edited:
Di maria vibes off this one.
Last edited:
Most accurate representation of the situation. How this problem gets solved I have no idea
Comedy Fail.
Slightly contradicting yourself there mate, but I think the key thing is there is more in our favour than against. Barca has to sell, we are ready to buy. I think it happens eventually.
I smell shenanigans afoot. I think Barcelona are pissed that the FDJ sale details leaked out as it has weakened their hand in the transfer market, and now they’re doing a backtrack on everything and trying to start again.
All the highly reputable sources were saying FDJ to United looks likely and since the initial fees and future instalments got loose, it’s suddenly gone all quiet. I can’t see any of them backtracking saying it isn’t going to happen because it would be an almighty scoop for someone and they‘d all have to walk back on it and report it isn’t going to happen.
Everyone who is involved with buying from them or selling to them is probably going to be involved in this very publicly played out ordeal, watching a financially fecked club get their business done. It’s like that Billy Bleach sketch from The Fast Show where moneys changing hands between a dozen people and they can’t get it to balance.
All the highly reputable sources were saying FDJ to United looks likely and since the initial fees and future instalments got loose, it’s suddenly gone all quiet. I can’t see any of them backtracking saying it isn’t going to happen because it would be an almighty scoop for someone and they‘d all have to walk back on it and report it isn’t going to happen.
Everyone who is involved with buying from them or selling to them is probably going to be involved in this very publicly played out ordeal, watching a financially fecked club get their business done. It’s like that Billy Bleach sketch from The Fast Show where moneys changing hands between a dozen people and they can’t get it to balance.
Even if United can do a deal with Barcelona there remain personal terms. If FdJ is used to being paid so highly will he even accept personal terms with United?
Spanish law, especially around sport seems complicated as feck.
I imagine we will give him a better deal than what Barca are asking him to reduce it to, but not as a high as what he's on right now.
Either way he's very rich.
This has been dragging and dragging with nothing happening for 2 weeks now
Fair to say since he’s back at Barca tomorrow we will finally hear something soon?
Fair to say since he’s back at Barca tomorrow we will finally hear something soon?
He’s only paid so highly to compensate for his deferred pay. I think his ‘normal’ contract is kinda reasonable. I’ve seen a circa 250k pw figure reported. I don’t think we will struggle to agree a deal with him.
Most likely. Think it will be a big week - at least we should get a better idea of which way it’s going.
Laporta knew perfectly well what he was doing. First it was a matter of endorsements, if he did not comply with them he could not be president.
Then Laporta had to paint the picture much worse, and instill fear in the Barcelona fans so that he could kick Messi out without being blamed on him if the season went wrong.
And third, the following year he will present some much better economic numbers and will hang the medals as the man who refloated Barcelona.
if we are that dumb then surely people responsible of this mess should be sacked.
De Jong may or may not arrive, but I wouldn't trust Berger to know. Below is what he reported earlier this year.
- Status