Reporter Han Bing reported that Frenki De Jong did not expect that because he refused to transfer to Manchester United and refused to take a salary cut, he was actually threatened by Barca with a lawyer's letter, and may sue him in court on the grounds that the previously signed deferred salary renewal contract was illegal. In order to be able to register all new signings and renewed players by this Saturday, Laporta really did nothing.
Last week, the president of the Dutch Players' Union, Levchenko, publicly accused Barca of extortion forcing De Jong to transfer or cut his salary. It was only after the Spanish and English media exposed Barca's warning letter on Monday that people understood that Levchenko was right. De Jong's lawyers received Barca's warning letter on July 15, just 2 days after De Jong refused to accept United's first offer!
Since then, the negotiations between Barça and De Jong's team have basically been debated about the legality of the contract extension signed by De Jong and Barca before.
In October 2020, barca president Bartomeu persuaded Pique, De Jong, Ter Stegen and Lengley to sign a contract extension with a deferred pay extension, barca's second salary cut since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic. De Jong and Barca renewed their contract until the summer of 2026, while receiving a pay cut in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, Barca will make up the difference in the salary cut in the next four seasons.
Barca's current board of directors considers the deferred pay renewal contract to be illegal, and although the renewal has reduced Barca's salary by 30 million euros in the first season, it has since added 311 million euros in salary expenses during the contract period, which is more than the total salary of the original contract. As a direct result, Barca's total salary has risen sharply at the beginning of this season, and it is difficult to pass the professional league's new signing registration review.
However, De Jong's lawyers pointed out that the deferred pay renewal contract had been reviewed by barça's board of directors, the Economic Committee, the Compliance Committee and Ernst & Young during the Bartomeu era, and finally passed the professional league's financial and legal review, and all four players were successfully registered.
After la Porta's team took over Barca last year, it conducted a comprehensive re-audit of Barça's finances, and after the audit in June 2021, due diligence against the former board of directors in July and evidence collection in December, it was also accepted that the contract extension was no problem. But when De Jong refused to transfer to Manchester United, the Barca chairman immediately turned his face, and the so-called warning of the illegality of the contract extension immediately surfaced, trying to force De Jong to comply.
Laporta's move almost confirmed the allegations made by the president of the Dutch players' union. De Jong's situation at Barca has attracted the attention of the International Federation of Players (FIFPRO), which is closely monitoring developments and does not rule out the possibility of intervening in the matter.
De Jong stressed that he prefers to stay at Barca, and if he leaves, he has the right to decide where he will go, and it is currently the priority for Chelsea, who can play in the Champions League. But Barca only gave two choices: either move to Manchester United, or cancel the Contract Extension in October 2020 and renew the contract with Barca with a sharp salary cut, otherwise it will have to go to court.
If Barca wins, the four contract extensions in the first year of the epidemic are voided, and the four-person contract returns to the pre-renewal state: Ter Stegen and Langley have 1 year left on their contract, and De Jong has 2 years left, and they have to return the extra salary they received as a result of the renewal.
Barca's current board of directors has yet to decide whether to bring the case, and is waiting for de Jong's team to give in. Barca have found a breakthrough for Pique, who "voluntarily" scrapped similar deferred pay extension contracts and slashed their salaries to renew their contracts. The Laporta team could have negotiated a "friendly" salary cut with De Jong to renew their contract, but in the end took such a radical approach that it could well backfire. De Jong's transfer has been delayed since May and has not yet been decided, at a time when the barca management's ruthlessness in turning faces can only complicate the situation. Pique, who has long since relegated to the business world, is willing to give in, which does not mean that De Jong and others will also accept such a "humiliating" salary reduction contract.