It is not just any scenario for Frenkie de Jong, nor is it the moment in his career. In Diego Armando Maradona, in which he scored his only goal in Europe, the Dutchman achieved catharsis. And it didn’t take him even a breath to attack the press: “I’m very irritated, pissed off. Many things are written that are not true. I don’t know how you’re not ashamed to say it.” De Jong was on the list of Barcelona’s communications department to speak in the run-up to the duel against Naples. This time, no one in the club needed to insist (as usually happens) for him to appear. He asked for the microphone. “You are talking a lot about my contract, situation, salary… It’s all smoke and lies,” he charged. Xavi sympathized with the Dutchman: “I understand De Jong perfectly.”
“They say that I earn like 40 million and that is very far from reality,” said De Jong. The press conference lasted less than stipulated. The club chose to protect the footballer. Now calmer, in the flash-interviewson the 21st he assured that he had “heated up” more than he should have. It is not the first time that De Jong has been angry with Barcelona; The easy prey, in any case, for the footballer (it was also at the time for Xavi Hernández) is the press. “We do not blame the press for the results. It’s not our excuse. But, sometimes, things are told that are not true. Any footballer and person who is in Barça feels injustice. Things are explained that are not true. And you carry it inside,” the coach insisted.
In the Barcelona locker room, no one forgets the destabilization process that De Jong experienced in the summer of 2022. And there are players like Araujo, Lewandowski, Koundé and Raphinha who believe that the club can start something similar to force his departure. At that time, the sports management aimed to sell De Jong. The first alternative was to talk to the footballer. There was no case, he didn’t want to know anything about leaving Barça. “It’s the club of my dreams,” he said. In addition, he had renewed in October 2020, a year and a half after arriving at the Camp Nou, to collaborate with the club during the pandemic. He was not the only footballer who had signed a new contract, Piqué, Ter Stegen and Lenglet had also done so. However, the four had separated themselves from the joint fight led by the then captains Messi and Busquets.
As the first strategy did not work, in August 2022 Barça threatened De Jong with denouncing this contract renewal. According to the club, there were signs of crime. The matter came to nothing. However, attrition had reached its peak. De Jong endured and even became an important player for Xavi, especially last year when the Blaugrana won the League and the Super Cup. “For me it is fundamental. With us he has been very happy and is capital for my scheme,” described the coach. And he looked at the offices: “His situation depends on the club.”
De Jong, like his coach, avoided targeting the managers. “Only a guy like Messi can do that,” remembers a Barça employee, in reference to the Argentine’s phrase “Mr. Faus doesn’t know anything about football,” when the club’s then economic vice president, Javier Faus, refused to review your contract. De Jong was less belligerent (publicly) with the directors, but more selective when it came to pointing out those who represented him: “The club? For me, the club is my teammates, the day-to-day people, the coaching staff…” And, when they insisted on whether he was aware that the leak of his contract came from his offices, he once again avoided confrontation with Laporta and company: “I can’t say because I don’t know. I hope not”.
Although Deco, the sports director, trusts De Jong, the club’s economic area puts him back in the showcase. And he does it in the same way as in 2022. “He is the one who earns the most. and we don’t have fair-play”complains an executive. In Barcelona’s offices they no longer have any idea how to fix the financial hieroglyph in which they are lost. When they landed at the club, the easiest thing was to point to the inheritance received by Josep Maria Bartomeu. Then those targeted were the captains and their salaries. The first to leave was Messi (140 million), followed by Piqué (40), Busquets (40) and Alba (30). But Laporta’s Barça has still not managed to solve the mismatch. And now that LaLiga once again reveals his limitations – according to the latest report, Barça spends 200 million more than allowed on the squad – the Barça board is targeting De Jong.
Nothing new, nor the resilience of the Dutchman to stay in Barcelona. “I’m doing great, a 10. I’m enjoying it a lot,” he concluded. In the press room, he was not noticed. Today he will speak on the pitch of Diego Armando Maradona.
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