Frenkie de Jong reveals his stance on the transfer and Barcelona’s biggest ‘disappointment’
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong admitted that he would be ready leave “the club of his dreams” under certain circumstances.
The divisive Dutchman has been greeted with boos and boos during his recent outings by an increasingly exasperated Catalan fan base. After arriving from Ajax for €75m (£62m) as one of the the world’s best midfieldersDe Jong struggled to replicate his unique style of play for a new team in a new country.
The 27-year-old has played under six different coaches in five-and-a-half seasons, with the demands placed on him changing after each appointment. Hansi Flick, the current holder of Barcelona, could only occasionally call on De Jong for fear of making the situation worse serious ankle injury which made the player think about early retirement.
As the January transfer window opens, speculation about De Jong’s future is mounting. While his agent and Flick have them said their own on this matter, the player himself offered his opinion.
“People think I want to stay at Barcelona forever because life outside of football here is very good, and it is good, but it is still less important than what happens on the pitch,” De Jong told the Dutch publication. Voetbal International. “If I felt I couldn’t contribute enough or if the team couldn’t compete, I would leave.”
De Jong has come under scrutiny mainly because his superb contract does not reflect the performance he has been able to produce in recent years. Academy midfielder Marc Bernal, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Augusthe has played more minutes in La Liga than his Dutch teammate this season.
Barcelona is reportedly locked in contractual standstill with De Jong, who has so far refused to sign a new contract with lower wages. The club are so keen to get the midfielder’s wages – thought to be in the region of £300,000-a-week – off their books, that they would accept a cut-price transfer fee.
De Jong, with whom he has an agreement Barcelona by 2026 it is completely indifferent. “My contract renewal is a topic for the local newspaper, but not for me,” he shrugged. “I want to play football and then I will see what the club wants to do with me and then I will decide what I want to do, together with my agent and my family.”
One of the topics that has troubled De Jong is the size of his trophy cabinet. The Dutch champion with Ajax joined a Lionel Messi-an inspired Barcelona team that has won four of the last five La Liga titles, a quartet of domestic cups and the Champions League in 2015. As the financial meltdown fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Barcelona more than any other club, the major accolades were not as expected in recent years.
“I have to admit that when I signed for Barcelona, I didn’t imagine that after four years I would only win one La Liga, one Copa del Rey and one Spanish Super Cup,” De Jong sniffed. “I was expecting at least twice that, so I’m disappointed. Things happen away from home and you can’t predict them.”
READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND GOSSIP
