Barcelona owes its player $17 million in back wages, and fans still harassed him outside the training ground for reportedly refusing to take a pay cut
- Barcelona fans were seen harassing midfielder Frenkie de Jong before training on Wednesday.
- He's refusing to take a pay cut to help the club register its new players, The Athletic reported.
FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong was harassed by a group of fans outside the club's training ground on Wednesday amid reports he is refusing to take a pay cut so that the team could register its new players.
Barcelona has signed five new players this summer but La Liga has prevented the club from registering them because it doesn't have enough money and must lower its wage bill.
According to The Athletic, De Jong has been asked to take a pay cut to help, but the Dutchman is refusing to do so because he is already owed $17 million in deferred wages.
The 25-year-old agreed to a wage deferral in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to receive the money.
Footage shared by Spanish newspaper Sport on Wednesday showed De Jong arriving to training in his car when a group of supporters hurled insults at him.
"Lower your salary, bitch," one fan could be heard saying.
Amid Barcelona's crippling financial problems, De Jong has been heavily linked with a move away from the Camp Nou this summer.
Sport reported that Manchester United had agreed to a $77 million deal with Barcelona to sign De Jong in June, but the player declined the move because he wants to play in Champions League.
United finished sixth in last season's English Premier League, meaning it missed out on a spot in European soccer's elite competition.
Chelsea is the latest club to be linked with De Jong, with The Times of England reporting that the London club is close to agreeing to a deal with Barcelona for the Dutch international.
Chelsea has yet to hear whether De Jong would be keen on the move but is optimistic the transfer can be completed, according to The Times.