Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has admitted that he would be ready leave “The club of his dreams” in certain circumstances.
The divisive Dutchman has been greeted with cheers and boos during his recent outings by an increasingly die-hard Catalan fan base. Having arrived from Ajax for €75m (£62m) as one of the the best midfielders in the worldDe 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 managers in the space of five-and-a-half seasons, with the demands placed on him changing with each appointment. Hansi Flick, the current president of Barcelona, has been able to call De Jong only intermittently for fear of worsening severe ankle injury which left the player thinking about an early retirement.
As the January transfer window opens, there has been increasing speculation surrounding De Jong's future. WHEREAS his agent and Flick have they had their say on this matter, the player himself offered his views.
“People think I want to stay at Barcelona forever because life outside football is very good here and it's good, but it's still less important than what happens on the pitch,” De Jong told the Dutch publication. International Football. “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 early contract does not reflect the impact he has been able to make in recent years. Academy midfielder Marc Bernal, who suffered a Season-ending knee injury in Augusthas played more minutes in La Liga than his Dutch teammate this season.
Barcelona is said to have closed in on one contractual deadlock with De Jong, who has so far refused to sign a new deal 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, who has an agreement with Barcelona by 2026, it is completely undisturbed. “Renewing my contract is the subject of the papers here, but it's 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 topic that concerned De Jong is the size of his trophy cabinet. The Dutch champion with Ajax joined a Lionel Messi-Inspired a Barcelona side that had won four of the last five La Liga titles, a quartet of domestic cups and the 2015 Champions League. While the financial crash fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic affected Barcelona more than any other club, the big honors haven't been as close in recent years.
“I have to admit that when I signed for Barcelona, I didn't imagine that I would only win a La Liga, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup in four years.” De Jong smell “I was expecting at least double that, so I'm disappointed. Things happen away from home and you can't predict them.”