'There is no extortion' with Frenkie De Jong says Laporta, also doubles down on Lionel Messi return

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said there is «no extortion» regarding trying to get Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong to reduce his salary. Barcelona have now added Leeds winger Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski from Bayern, and Sevilla's Jules Kounde in a busy summer, in addition to the signings of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers from Milan and Chelsea respectively.

This after they went into the summer with serious financial worries. Ad/> The re-signing of Ousmane Dembele was also celebrated as a coup, with the French winger rejecting reported Chelsea interest to stay with the Catalan club.

Barca's summer splurge has cost around £130m in transfer fees alone, but manager Xavi Hernandez now has a vastly strengthened squad. Transfers'We will make this dream a reality' — Laporta determined to bring Messi back to BarcelonaYESTERDAY AT 09:34 The big-money moves have resulted in criticism from numerous directions.

Manchester United legend and former Valencia coach Gary Neville has been vocal in his criticism of the club's handling of the De Jong situation, with the club seeming to offer him out to other clubs whilst saying publicly that if he wants to stay he will have to take a salary reduction. It appeared as though the strategy might culminate in De Jong moving to Manchester United.

The long-rumoured transfer turned into a saga for the ages, but seems to have ultimately ended with De Jong agreeing to remain at Barcelona on potentially reduced wages. «Treated really badly» — The Spanish view on the Frenkie de Jong situation Barcelona beat Chelsea to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde Paper Round — Manchester United must «pay up» for Milinkovic-Savic Barcelona have been accused of «extortion» by the