Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed the club have “made an exception” to negotiate a new contract with Frenkie de Jong, whose current deal expires next summer.
The Dutchman has been the subject of intense transfer speculation for a number of years, most prominently being linked to Manchester United when Erik ten Hag was in charge, but has remained a key player for Barcelona, coming into the 2025–26 campaign after arguably his strongest season for the Catalan giants.
Barça had been to extend De Jong’s contract as a result, with the player himself admitting that a contract renewal was a matter of time back during Barcelona’s preseason tour. But nothing materialized and there’s been no new information since.
That was until Barcelona president Joan Laporta spoke to Catalan outlet RAC1 upon returning from the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Laporta cited De Jong’s recent change of agents as the main reason for the delay in contract negotiations, but he remains confident an agreement will be reached.
The Exception Barcelona Made With Frenkie de Jong
“De Jong’s renewal is being worked on,” Laporta told RAC1, via Mundo Deportivo. “Deco has done an extraordinary job. We said we didn’t want players on the team whose contracts would end after this season, but we made an exception with De Jong because he changed agents.
“He’s [De Jong] motivated, he even says he’s able to sleep well even after having a child recently. We’re awaiting good news shortly.”
Sebastien Ledure is De Jong’s new agent and fresh negotiations with Deco are said to be already underway. The expectation is that De Jong will sign a new contract that ties him to Barça until the summer of 2029.
Barcelona Players Out of Contract in 2026
De Jong isn’t the only player Barcelona have made an exception for. Eric García and Andreas Christensen are also playing while in the last year of their contracts with the club. So are Robert Lewandowski and Marc Bernal, but the club could trigger clauses to extend those two deals.
In García’s case, both the player and the club want a contract renewal. SPORT reports both parties are working towards reaching an agreement before Christmas, whereas Christensen’s situation isn’t as clear and it’s likely an extension will be dependent on his performances during 2025–26.
Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Jules Koundé and Wojciech Szczęsny all signed new contracts with the Catalans over the summer.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona President Confirms ‘Exception Made’ in Contract Talks.
