Barcelona seem to be in a messy transfer battle with midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Barca and Manchester United have agreed a fee for De Jong, but the Netherlands international is against a move away from Nou Camp.

Reports claim that one of De Jong’s main insistence for not leaving is based on his deferred wages.

De Jong took a pay cut to help the club out during the pandemic times, on the provision that he would earn back that money over the next couple of seasons.

Barcelona are locked in talks with De Jong over his high salary, as the player does not want to reduce his salary or leave the club.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona could unilaterally slash the salary of Frenkie De Jong by activating article 41 of the government’s workers statutes in Spain.

Article 41 states that “a company can change the main working conditions of their employees – like their salary. Such modifications need to be based on either an economic, technical, organisational or productive cause.”

Speaking about the salary and transfer saga of Frenkie De Jong, La Liga president Javier Tebas has now said: “The players cannot be split from the team or pressured to make decisions – it’s what a collective agreement, the law, reason and ethics mark.

“From there, Barcelona knows the rules and the responsibilities.”

With player and club yet to reach an agreement, this may ultimately lead to a messy legal battle between Barcelona and De Jong.