Messi could make a romantic Barca return when he leaves PSG this summer – but such a move may come at a cost to De Jong...
(Image credit: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Barcelona are reportedly planning to ask Frenkie de Jong to take another pay cut, in a bid to free up the funds which could allow them to bring Lionel Messi back to the Camp Nou.
Messi will leave PSG when his contract expires next month, having joined the French giants on a free transfer two years ago when Barca couldn't afford to keep him amid their financial struggles.
Those difficulties are far from over for the La Liga champions elect, but that hasn't stopped them exploring the possibility of re-signing the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner this summer.
De Jong has started 24 of Barcelona's La Liga games this season (Image credit: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
According to Mundo Deportivo (via the Mirror), Barca want De Jong to further reduce his wages – after the midfielder did so to aid the club during the pandemic – in order to give them some financial wriggle-room.
The report adds that Barca also want to bring down the salary of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
In the case of De Jong, Manchester United may be monitoring developments with great interest – having chased the Netherlands international in one of the epic (but ultimately fruitless) transfer sagas of last summer.
Messi and De Jong spent two seasons together at Barca (Image credit: Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
De Jong, 25 – who is currently valued at €60m (£53.2m) by Transfermarkt – still has three years left to run on his deal at Barca, who he joined from Ajax in 2019.
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Messi, meanwhile, has been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia – where Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Al-Nassr in January.
Argentina's World Cup winning captain – who turns 36 next month – could reportedly earn more than £300m a year in the Saudi Pro League.
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Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
