Deferred salary payments owed to Frenkie De Jong by Barcelona could hold up the Catalan giants bid to sign Leeds United winger Raphinha this summer. As things stand, the Dutch midfielder is owed wages he deferred to help Barcelona out during the COVID-19 pandemic and their recent financial crisis.
The wage issues are said to be serving as a buffer to De Jong's proposed summer move to Manchester United for a reported fee of around £56m. At the moment, Barcelona have a host of players they want to offload this summer too in order to free up salary cap space to register players. Under president Joan Laporte, the club have undergone a drive to improve their coffers, which includes a recent sponsorship deal with music streaming giants Spotify.
But with Barcelona owing De Jong a reported £17m according to the Guardian, that could hold up their attempts to sign Raphinha. While their finances have improved, they are unlikely to want to fork out nearly £20m to a player who looks set to leave Camp Nou this summer.
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The Brazilian winger is available this summer for £60m, with Chelsea already having had a bid accepted for the 25-year-old. Barcelona have always been his preferred preference, which means Raphinha could wait for his dream move should they promise to ensure they will meet Leeds' asking price.
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