Frenkie de Jong has decided to stay at Barcelona and lower his salary after a summer of wrangling with the club, according to the Spanish press.
However, Manchester United have still not given up the chase and are in regular contact with his entourage.
The British media have been divided over whether United still hold an interest in the player, having bought Real Madrid’s Casemiro last week.
But Catalan outfit Sport have been adamant that the chase was still on and that there was a total refusal on the player’s part to lower his salary to remain at Barça.
Now, it seems, he has accepted the conditions to stay and has rejected both United and Chelsea’s advances.
“The Dutchman wants to continue no matter what and his agent will talk about a salary reduction or deferral,” Sport reports.
“The midfielder had the United option open, but the operation is highly unfeasible.
“He is open to talking about his contract despite the fact that he considers that his salary was already lowered last season and that his renewal was fair with a contract deferral.
“The player’s agent and the club will talk about restructuring the contract starting this season and proposals are already being passed to try to reach a favorable agreement.
“The Dutchman is not at all convinced of the proposals from Chelsea and Manchester United, despite the fact that he is very grateful, especially to the latter club, which has told him in the last hours that it will wait for him until the last day of the market in case he reconsiders his position.
“…United once again approached his entourage in recent hours with the conviction that an agreement could be closed.”
Sport goes on to lament that De Jong’s decision could mean that the club cannot continue its pursuit of Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, although there was some sense that this might still be possible despite the 25 year old’s change of heart.
United fans had hoped that De Jong’s hard line over lowering his salary was a move to get Barcelona to pay the €17 million they already owe him in wages deferred during the Covid crisis before he leaves.
However, the fact that his agents are now negotiating a reduction would indicate that he really is serious about staying at the club he has supported since he was a child.
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