Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong situation has been a shambles from the beginning, but it is now becoming apparent just how badly the Catalan side have messed it up with the Dutchman.

All the power in the relationship is in the hands of the Netherlands star, and try as they might to move him on, the prospect of a summer transfer seems slim.

FootballTransfers has already debunked reports from Spain that indicated that De Jong has asked to leave the club – a source close to the situation described these frankly as “bulls***” – and yet the former Ajax player is a weight that Barca cannot carry.

Over the remaining two years of his contract, Barcelona will pay €77m for De Jong between unpaid transfer fees and his salary, RAC1 reports. For a club that is beset by financial difficulties, this is an astronomical figure.

Indeed, the report goes on to indicate that he is expected to renew his contract or leave. What is often left out is that Barca want De Jong to sign for a pittance compared to his current deal.

And even if Barcelona do somehow get De Jong to leave at this juncture, the fee they can demand for him is liable to be lower than they could have extracted from Manchester United 18 months ago, when the Red Devils chased the player relentlessly for a summer before splashing out more than €70 million on the ageing Casemiro.

The Catalans are reportedly pegging their price for De Jong against Chelsea’s deals for Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, worth €115m and €121m respectively.

The transfer market is not in a period of such excess, though. January 2024, when Lyon were the top spending club in the world, is evidence of a time of recession in transfer fees.

Despite this, Barcelona want at least €100m for a player who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €50m.

Financial Fair Play (FFP), as Barcelona are only too aware, has never been such an important consideration. Chelsea, Man Utd and to a lesser extent Arsenal, who are the leading three contenders for De Jong, are all clubs set to be impacted in 2024.

Chelsea have already signed their two marquee midfielders, Arsenal did so last year with their big-money move for Declan Rice, while Man Utd have multiple summer priorities and under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS are unlikely to throw around the type of silly money they once might have.

The Saudi Pro League may yet buck the trend, but good luck getting De Jong to accept a deal there if he has no interest in moving to one of Europe’s historic giants.

The idea that someone might pay €100m for Frenkie this summer is fanciful.

Tottenham have emerged as a viable alternative, but Gerard Romero reports that Spurs are only willing to pay €60m – less than Barca’s initial investment in the player.

And still there is the issue of whether De Jong would accept a contract with a team so famously incapable of winning trophies.

With De Jong content with his lot at Camp Nou, Barcelona have no easy solution to the problem he is causing them. They have well and truly got their timing wrong in this case.