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What's the story?
Despite seeming in pole position to add to the signing of Frenkie de Jong with the signing of Matthijs de Ligt, it has now been reported by Marca that the young Ajax captain's monetary demands put off the Blaugrana, who have shifted their to focus to other targets like Antoine Griezmann and Neymar.
In case you didn't know
De Ligt caught the attention of big clubs across Europe when he led Ajax to the Champions League semifinal last season. Clubs like PSG, Juventus, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool have been linked to the Ajax captain.
Heart of the matter
Barcelona seemed to be in a pole position to sign the 19-year-old but his wage demands seem to have put them off. Marca has reported that Barcelona has walked out of the deal as they are unwilling to meet the wage requirements.
The Dutch defender is demanding a net salary of €12 million per year. A five-year contract would mean that he would Barcelona around €60 million in wages alone. The Catalan giants would also have to fork out around €75 million to buy him from Ajax.
Add-ons and agent fees would take the cost of the whole deal above €200 million, which has been decided to be too much for Barcelona. The Catalan giants have four centre-backs Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti and Jean-Clair Todibo, and hence have decided to look at strengthening other departments.
If reports are to be believed, the La Liga champions have shifted their focus on securing the transfers of Antoine Grieamann and Neymar. On the other hand, De Ligt seems to be going to Juventus.
Earlier, PSG and Juventus seemed to be close to securing the signature of the starlet, but De Ligt's agent Mino Raiola swung the deal in favour of Juventus.
