Barcelona are likely to be captained by Frenkie de Jong on a number of occasions this season, as club captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen is unlikely to play much. However, the Dutchman has a contract out of less than a year, and Barcelona will be desperate to ensure that a new deal is in place before January, even if he eventually leaves the club.
De Jong and Barcelona appear to have made peace after a protracted dispute over his deferred salary and a potential departure. The 28-year-old elaborated during their pre-season tour that he intends to extend his deal with Barcelona, but it has apparently been held back by his contractual obligations to his agent Ali Dursun, who has represented him since he was a teenager.
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De Jong leaves agent Dursun
The Netherlands international has decided to break with Dursun in order to facilitate negotiations with Barcelona, after frequent disagreements in the past. However, when de Jong tried to separate from Dursun, who is under contract until the end of the year, he ran into difficulties, and Barcelona were left with no one to negotiate with.
Nevertheless, MD claims that de Jong has now solved the problem, and that his new agent has already been in contact with Barcelona to express his desire to extend the deal. Barcelona will try to resolve the departures of Inaki Pena, Oriol Romeu and Hector Fort, before settling a new deal for de Jong. Their intention is to offer him a new three-year deal.
Barcelona registration problems
It is believed that a new deal for de Jong, with a reduced salary, will help the club solve their constant problem with the salary cap, registering Wojciech Szczesny, Gerard Martin and Roony Bardghji, as was the case with Jules Kounde.
Since the start of the calendar year, de Jong’s Barcelona career has turned around, and he has played some of his best football at the club. Hansi Flick counts him as a central piece in midfield, and he is no longer a constant source of questions and speculation.
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