According to many rumors from Catalan media, Barcelona and Frenkie de Jong have begun negotiations on the Dutch midfielder’s extension of his current contract. The club has made first contact with the player’s team in an effort to extend De Jong’s current contract, which runs through 2026.

In order to lower De Jong’s average annual salary while still paying the full amount owed to the Dutchman under his current contract, Barça is seeking a restructured agreement similar to the one the club reportedly reached with Marc-André ter Stegen this week.

With the expectation that the financial situation would improve significantly once the higher figures of De Jong’s salaries (as well as Ter Stegen’s) start kicking in and don’t have as much of an influence on the salary margin, the move is intended to give more salary cap space in the near future. According to early sources, Frenkie is open to hearing the proposal, but it doesn’t seem that he is as eager as Ter Stegen was to make a deal right now.It’s vital to note that De Jong previously consented to a similar restructure, delaying his pay during the pandemic with a new raise scheduled to begin this summer. Now if Barça wants him to do it once more, it makes sense that Frenkie would at least be wary of the thought of once again forgoing short-term financial gain.