Footballer-turned-pundit Gary Neville has urged Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong to take legal action against the club amid interest from Manchester United.
Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit, Gary Neville has hit out at Barcelona for the treatment of their midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The former England international has urged de Jong to initiate legal action against the Blaugrana, who are reportedly refusing to pay a part of his deferred wages.
Frenkie de Jong joined Barcelona from Ajax in the 2019 summer transfer window and still has four years left on his contract with the club. He has since made 138 appearances for the Catalan giants across all competitions, scoring 13 times and assisting 17 goals in the process.
However, Barcelona are reportedly now eager to offload him to clear their wage bill and have agreed on a £71.5 million transfer with Manchester United. But the Blaugrana owe £17 million to de Jong in wages, and the player wants that cleared before making the switch to Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Barcelona continue to sign players this summer, with the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski arriving in deals worth £55 million and £42.5 million, respectively. They are also said to be in the running for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, who is expected to cost around £50 million.
Pointing out that the treatment meted out to de Jong by the club is unacceptable, Neville urged the Dutchman to take legal action against the club. The Manchester United legend also called upon FIFPRO, the international footballers’ representative body, to step into the matter.
Neville took to Twitter to make his feeling known. Here’s what he tweeted, “De Jong should consider legal action v Barcelona and all players should be behind him! A club spending fortunes on new players whilst not paying the ones they have under contract their full money is immoral and a breach. @FIFPRO should be all over bullying like this and stop it.”
Recent reports claim that Barcelona manager Xavi is trying to convince de Jong into taking a pay cut to stay at the club, while he plans to play him as a centre-back.
