The details of De Jong's contract: His fixed salary, bonuses, deferred payments...

Barcelona are currently negotiating the transfer of Frenkie de Jong with Manchester United. The Dutchman's departure is not a sporting issue, but an economic one, as the Catalan club would otherwise have to pay a lot of money to the player in the four seasons left on his contract.

In total, Barcelona have to pay 88.58 million euros for the fixed salary and loyalty bonuses that De Jong has on his contract.

There also variables worth 8m euros (2m euros for each year) if he plays 60 percent of the games and a maximum of 12.8m euros (3.2m euros per year) for titles won or reaching the final of the Champions League.

All of this is outlined in the footballer's contract, which MARCA has had access to.

The fixed, deferred and bonus payments of De Jong's contract

There are three main reasons why these amounts are so high. Firstly, the player's fixed salary was stipulated at 14m euros when he signed for Barcelona in 2019.

Secondly, there are deferred payments brought about by the pandemic, as De Jong gave up an important part of his salary in an agreement that meant he would recover the amount during the following seasons.

Then, finally, there are loyalty bonuses he has in his contract totalling 15.58m euros.

The deferred payments, together with the loyalty bonuses, mean that in the next two seasons the overall amount to be received by the player will rise significantly.

If last season he received a fixed 9m euros, next season he would receive double that amount.

In addition, he will receive a bonus of almost 3m euros, which will bring his total to almost 21m euros.

The 2023/24 season would be the highest of all, as he'd receive 27.7m euros for both his fixed salary and bonuses. These figures could be increased with the variables.

De Jong's salary deductions

In De Jong's first season, the COVID-19 pandemic enforced changes to his contract. In that first season, the club reduced the salary of all first team players by 12 percent on a linear basis and the Dutchman was paid 12.32m euros instead of the 14m euros in his contract.

The continuation of the pandemic meant that the following year the contract had to be renegotiated once more.

What the player did was to extend his commitment for two more seasons and defer his payments.

In the first two seasons, 2020/21 and 2021/22, the player reduced his salary from 14m euros to 3m euros and 9m euros respectively.

That meant giving up 16m euros, which he would be paid over the remaining four seasons until the end of his contract in 2026. That is why he now earns a fixed 18m euros, made up of the 14m euros he was earning plus the 4m euros deferred.

For the final season, there will be additional 1m euros, bringing the total amount he earns to 19m euros.

There is demand for De Jong in Europe

This is partly why Barcelona want to sell the player, as he is out of the salary scale that the new sporting department wants to establish, even though Joan Laporta has stated that he will do everything possible to keep him.

Furthermore, De Jong is one of the players who has the biggest market value.

Manchester United are willing to pay 65m euros fixed plus another 20m euros in potential add-ons, although these amounts are still being negotiated.