Rafael van der Vaart calls for Barcelona ‘mafia’ to be punished over Frenkie de Jong saga | OneFootball

Rarely has so much outrage been produced towards a football club during a transfer window. Yet rightly or wrongly, Barcelona have made themselves plenty of enemies this summer.

In particular, the Frenkie de Jong saga has riled emotions. Barcelona have been accused of bullying as they attempt to force the Dutch midfielder out. Allegedly the club have offered him a pay cut or an exit, even threatening legal action against the Blaugrana.

The latest pundit to tee off on Barcelona is Rafael van der Vaart, a former Real Madrid player. Speaking to Ziggo Sport, he made his feelings clear. Diario AS carried his words.

“You can’t treat people like this.”

“Frenkie earns too much? First you sign a contract and then you fulfil it or you leave on good terms, but it is not like that. This is a mafia and they have to be punished.”

Van der Vaart also believes it will have a permanent impact on the image of the club.

“The name of Barca has come out of it looking very bad. It is great club and everyone wants to play there. But from here on we are judging it in a different way and to me it’s a disgrace when you play for them.”

Regardless of their summer, the narrative will no doubt change if Barcelona are successful. While it seems as if Barcelona may well have acted reprehensibly this summer, the leadership at other clubs have been responsible for far worse behaviour but after initial dissent, that narrative has receded into the background.