Xavi close to losing a starter: De Jong's transfer to Man United would become one of the biggest sales in Barcelona's history

Since Xavi Hernandez was appointed asBarcelona’s new head coach in November 2021, the Cules have begun a restructuring process. In one of his first conferences, Joan Laportasaid: “We have a debt of 1.3 billion euros”. Barcelona are no longer one of the most powerful teams in the world.

Xavi fulfilled the club’s main objective for this season, to qualify for the 2022-2023 Champions League. It is estimated that Barcelona will receive €50 million for qualifying for next season’s UCL. However, Xavi intends to have a strong and top-level team. “Barcelona must have two high-level players per position”, he assured.

For there to be new signings, Barça have to free up places in the squad. In addition, the club’s officialsthink it is best to sell one of the star players so that the club has a large income and can sign several players. Everything seems to indicate that Barcelona have already chosen which player theywill sell, and the player would have already secured a destination.

FrenkieDe Jong could leave Barcelona for Manchester United

In 2019 Barcelona paid €86,000,000 to Ajaxfor Frenkie De Jong. The Dutchman is under contract with the Cules until 2026, but his low performance and young age (25) make him a great option for the transfer window. Barca’s decision to sell De Jong is for purely economic reasons.

According to journalist Gerard Romero, Barcelona believe that if the Dutchman stays at the club for another season, they risk losing money on him. De Jong has a market value of 70,000,000 euros.

In this context, Manchester United have been linked to the De Jong rumors from the very beginning, and it all gained momentum whenErik Ten Hag was officially named the Red Devils’ new coach. Ten Hag managed the 25-year-old midfielder at Ajax.

As reported by Romero, De Jong will almost certainly sign for Manchester United this summer. There´s a 95% chance that the transfer will be completed before the end of May. Manchester United would be willing to pay between 70 and 80 million euros.

If the transfer is completed, it would be the second most expensive sale in Barcelona’s history. The first place is taken by Neymar’s transfer to PSG in 2017 for €222,000,000, andcurrently in second place is Arthur’s transfer to Juventus for 72,000,000 euros.