Everything Barca
Fansided

What does De Jong signing mean for Barcelona’s spiralling wage bill?

By Chiranjib Ghosh

Frenkie de Jong of Ajax during the Dutch Toto KNVB Cup match between Ajax Amsterdam and sc Heerenveen at the Johan Cruijff Arena on January 24, 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Frenkie de Jong of Ajax during the Dutch Toto KNVB Cup match between Ajax Amsterdam and sc Heerenveen at the Johan Cruijff Arena on January 24, 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Barcelona have signed yet another high-profile player on a huge salary

In a recent report, it was revealed that Barcelona have the highest expenditure on personnel salaries among all the sporting ventures in the club. It was estimated at a whopping €562 million, close to the revenue generated by Manchester City annually.

This dramatically huge figure was because of some major signings that the club made last season. Players like Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho were brought in on huge salaries. The wage bill is expected to increase for this season too, with high-profile signings like Arturo Vidal.

But the hike could be contained by the fact that the club offloaded many players in the summer transfer window. But that will not be the case for next season, with no major departures expected other than that of Ivan Rakitić.

More from Everything Barca

On the other hand, Barça have struck an agreement with Ajax for the transfer of 21-year old Dutch defensive midfielder Frenkie de Jong in the summer transfer window in January. The fee is going to be €75 million, indicative of the inflated transfer market.

But the even more worrying part of the deal entails the contract of De Jong. The Dutch youngster’s agent, Ali Dursun, has negotiated a huge wage package with Barça after Paris Saint-Germain failed to follow up on their strong interest.

De Jong will receive an annual salary of €10 million, with €6 million in performance-based bonuses. This will make the starlet one of the highest-paid players at Barça, putting him parallel to the likes of Luis Suárez and Philippe Coutinho.

Barça turn attention to another Ajax starlet. dark. Next

While the wage bill should grow just slightly for the 2018/19 season, De Jong’s signing represents a 3% increase from the current bill. The club may be contemplating offloading Ivan Rakitić to reduce the pressure on the club’s finances rather than making space for De Jong.