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Barcelona‘s current financial difficulties are well-known and have also not gone unnoticed by other top clubs in Europe who feel they may be able to take advantage of the Catalan giants’ economic issues.
European champions Bayern Munich are one of those clubs and have been in touch with midfielder Frenkie de Jong’s agent Ali Dursun to let him know they remain interested in the Netherlands international, according to Mundo Deportivo’s Miguel Rico.
Bayern were keen on De Jong before he made the switch from Ajax to Barcelona in 2019 and have informed the midfielder’s agent they would be “willing to talk” if the Catalan giants are forced to sell any of their players to ease their financial problems.
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Could De Jong Really Leave Barcelona?
It would certainly be a shock if De Jong left Barcelona. The Netherlands international was brought in to be the future of the Barcelona midfield and has been a regular ever since he arrived at the Camp Nou.
De Jong has not managed to consistently replicate the form that made him such a star at Ajax, but he remains a crucial member of the Barcelona starting XI and only turned 23 earlier this year.
The Netherlands international also signed a contract extension at the club in October that runs until 2026. De Jong has a release clause in his contract set at €400 million ($485m).
There seems little chance Bayern would activate his release clause, but if transfer talks ever did materialize then Barcelona would surely demand at least the initial €75m they paid Ajax for De Jong.
De Jong Tipped to ‘Mark an Era’ at Barcelona
De Jong has been tipped to make a big impact at Barcelona by club legend Xavi. The former midfielder spoke to the 2022 World Cup’s Instagram account about the Dutchman and explained just how highly he rates him.
When Barcelona signed Frenkie de Jong, it made me happy. I wished him good luck on Instagram, he responded very well, saying ‘Thank you, it’s an honor’. I consider him a footballer that can mark an era at Barcelona.
Surely for Netherlands, he will be one of the best players of his generation at Qatar 2022, without a doubt, he’s still so young. I think he is an extraordinary footballer, he’s not afraid of getting the ball in areas that make it difficult to turn, he’s such a good player.
Frenkie de Jong is Frenkie de Jong. He has nothing to do with Iniesta, with me or with Busquets, he’s totally different. He’s a very capable player and he will be the organizer of this generation of Dutch players. He’s capable of organizing a team from the midfield and I have no doubts, it’s up to him.
Barcelona will certainly be hoping Xavi is right and De Jong can have that kind of impact at the Camp Nou. Current coach Ronald Koeman had been expected to bring out the best in De Jong, after working with the midfielder for the Netherlands national team, but the Dutchman has still only shown flashes of his best form in 2020-21 so far.
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