When, as a part of Ajax’s great generation that in the 2018/2019 season reached the semi-finals of the Champions League chose to go to Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong dreamed of the European crown and the constant fight for the Ol’ Big Ears trophy. He believed he was climbing a step higher in his career, which was still in its infancy. However, things did not turn out exactly as the young Dutch midfielder had imagined.De Jong dove into the turbulent waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The transfer, which, with bonuses, amounted to 85,000,000 euros seemed like an excellent deal by Barcelona at the time, because the Catalans managed to beat the competition for the signature, and it was fierce – PSG, City and United, but quickly the club fell into a financial ditch from which it has not yet fully recovered. Leo Messi left, the president and even three coaches were changed, and in three years only Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup were won. On the international stage, Barcelona significantly lost their reputation, while De Jong found himself in a situation where he was unwelcome at the club. Due to problems with Financial Fair Play last summer, the club literally begged the midfielder to move to Manchester United in order to ease the salary budget for the players (de Jong was one of the highest-paid players in Barcelona with 14,000,000 euros a year until Lewandowski arrived), but there was a turnaround that could serve as an example to many young footballers.##NAJAVA_MECA_7383451##De Jong persistently refused to leave Camp Nou and managed to persist in remaining a Barcelona player. He found a common language with the club regarding the debt, and the Catalans found other ways to “squeeze” the money needed to operate in the transfer market. Frenkie de Jong’s playing qualities have never been disputed when it comes to Xavi. The young coach emphasized that he would be happy to have him in the team, but he himself was aware of the problematic situation in which the club is. However, when it became definitively clear that the Dutchman was staying, Xavi showed him maximum trust, to which the player reciprocated with excellent performances. Out of 43 appearances, 37 were in the starting line-up. He scored two goals and assisted four, but efficiency is not his priority in the game. His job is to link the defensive and midfield, to spoil the opponent’s game, and he was excellent at that.He was the most successful midfielder in Europe last season in terms of progressive passes (13.5 per match), and second in passing the ball and starting offensive actions (5.1 per match). He had 2.4 successful tackles per game and 2.1 sacks.Frenkie de Jong being named as of the club captains for next season should end any kind of doubt regarding his future, even if there were any.Last summer at this time he was on the brink of leaving but didn’t budge and within a year he is a captain. 🇳🇱©️ pic.twitter.com/FLNXAr6Vod— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) July 21, 2023 How important Frenkie de Jong was in Xavi’s system is shown by the captain’s armband he wore in the last match of the season, against Valladolid. And, on the eve of the upcoming one, Xavi officially named him the club’s fourth captain. The first three are Sergi Roberto, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo.It is clear that this is not such an important thing, but in the case of the Dutch footballer, it is still important considering that last summer they asked him every day to leave Barcelona. With this move, the club also found a way to make up for it, because as he mentioned, the reason for the transfer was neither De Jong’s qualities nor his behavior.
