Football

De Jong Release Clause Set at €400m

Published

8 years ago

January 24, 2019

After beating Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City in the race to sign Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona are taking all necessary precautions to ensure they do not end up losing their incoming star for a cut price in the future.

The Catalan side struck a deal with Ajax that sees a long transfer saga come to an end as 21-year-old midfielder De Jong will head to Camp Nou in the summer for an initial €75 million (£65m/$85m) which could rise to €86m (£75m/$98m) depending on performances.

Speculation surrounding the Netherlands international’s future had been circulating for over a year, with PSG, City and Barca all seemingly determined to land him.

But he will complete a “dream move” to the Spanish champions at the end of the season after assessing all of his options.

“The fact that they were so serious about getting me and that I have a good chance of getting playing time made the decision a bit easier,” De Jong said.

“It’s not like I’m going to Barcelona as a tourist to watch Messi in action. I am not going to say that I will bench Sergio Busquets or anything! But I think I have a good chance of getting plenty of minutes.”