Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has revealed why he might leave the Spanish giant just two-and-a-half years after snubbing Manchester United.
Undoubtedly one of the passers in the game, De Jong, 27, rejected Manchester United in the summer of 2022. With United’s football director John Murtough and then-manager Erik ten Hag eager to sign him, Barcelona accepted a £56million transfer fee.
However, the Netherlands international didn’t want to leave Camp Nou and ended up staying.
Things has since been difficult for De Jong with the former Ajax star injured for most part of the season. Despite being a regular under former boss Xavi, an ankle injury forced him to miss Euro 2024 and new manager Hansi Flick’s honeymoon period.
Frenkie De Jong and Ansu Fati of FC Barcelona look on from the bench prior to the LaLiga EASports match (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
The 27-year-old has now addressed the talk around his future and denied claims that he only wants to end his career in Cataluya for off-field reasons. Speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, De Jong explained: “People think I want to stay at Barcelona forever because life outside of football is so good here, and that’s good, but what happens on the pitch is always more important.
“If I felt like I couldn’t contribute enough, or if the team wasn’t competitive, I would leave.”
The former Ajax star, who played under Ten Hag for the Dutch giants, added: “When I signed for Barcelona, I didn’t imagine to win only a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup after four years. I expected at least double, so that disappoints me. Things happen on the road you can’t predict.”
De Jong only has 18 months left on his current deal, so it’s left to see if he will be offered a new deal at Barcelona.
He’ll be hoping for a better 2025 and also to get his chance in the starting line-up when Barca travel to face fourth-tier side UD Barbastro in the Copa del Rey on Saturday
