‘Take a pay cut, b***h!’ – Manchester United and Chelsea target Frenkie de Jong abused by Barcelona fans

Frenkie de Jong was subject to shocking abuse from Barcelona fans as he arrived at the club’s training complex on Wednesday as he continues to be linked with a move away.

Manchester United have been chasing the Dutch midfielder throughout the summer and agreed a £73million fee with Barca last month, though De Jong has so far snubbed a move to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman is happy and settled in Barcelona and not keen to swap the sunshine and beaches of Catalonia for Manchester, while he is also unwilling to drop down to the Europa League.

There is also an issue over deferred wages Barca still owe to De Jong, which amounts to around £14m – a tab the Catalan club want any buying club to pick up.

United’s inability to convince De Jong or resolve the wage issue has opened the door to Chelsea in recent weeks, with the west Londoners now also close to agreeing a fee with Barca.

However, De Jong still harbours significant reservations about leaving Camp Nou for the Premier League and relayed as much to Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly recently, reiterating his desire to stay and fight for his place at Barca.

But the situation is now threatening to turn ugly, with Barca cranking up the pressure on De Jong to leave and even informing the midfielder last month that they had ‘found evidence of criminal actions’ over the contract extension he signed in October 2020 – when a different board were in charge.

Barca also cannot register some of their new signings until they have sold more players and lowered their wage bill, with supporters now beginning to turn on the players who won’t leave.

Martin Braithwaite – another player who has refused a pay cut – was booed by the Camp Nou crowd earlier this week as the squad were presented to supporters, and