Revealed: The rising fees which are complicating the de Ligt deal

Barça are aware that a deal for Matthijs de Ligt is practically dead in the water. This feeling began over a month ago and recent reports have only added further fuel to the fire. What's become clear is they aren't willing to match the wages offered by their rivals for the young defender.

The plan was to wrap up a deal similar to the one agreed with de Ligt's teammate and best friend, Frenkie de Jong, somewhere in the region of €6m per season. And whilst they won't take their deal off the table it appears they have missed out on the Ajax captain.

It all began back in February when a fee was quickly agreed with Ajax and they were given permission to sit down with the player. Between March and April, personal terms were agreed and it felt like the only thing holding up an official announcement was Ajax's continued progress in the Champions League.

De Ligt was concerned about his reduced playing time at the Camp Nou but eventually agreed to fight for his place and learn from his more experienced teammates. The fact his best friend de Jong was already on his way to Barça helped matters.

However as the weeks passed, and de Ligt still hadn't signed the deal, concern began to grow. His and Ajax's fine performances in Europe saw more teams become interested in making an offer for the defender and this caused him to stall on a move to Barça.

Juventus were the first to test the water by offering €10m per season, €4m higher than what Barça had discussed with de Ligt. They even promised him a starting place in their team and the chance to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

With interest in de Ligt growing, his representatives came back to Barça asking to renegotiate terms. They would prefer a move to Spain over Italy but wanted terms similar to the one presented by Juve. Barça refused and said their offer remained on the table under the previously agreed terms.

As the player took some time to consider his options, Mino Raiola came with an astronomical offer from PSG. Not only was this higher than Barça's but it was also greater than Juve's at €12m per season. Since that moment there's been no further contact between de Ligt and Barça.

The club refused to get involved when Raiola's trip to Paris was made public. It felt deliberate. Instead, Barça remained firm and refused to pick up the phone and offer terms closer to their rivals. Now it's time for everyone to wait and see what happens next. The world appears to think de Ligt will sign for PSG but Barça, whilst not optimistic of landing the star themselves, believe he could end up at Juventus due to them having a more established sporting project. A decision is likely to come before the end of this month.