According to Footmercato, De Jong is plagued by injuries at Barcelona and there is still a possibility that he will leave the club in the future.
In 2019, Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain in the race to sign Frenkie de Jong. Barcelona then splashed out €86 million (including bonuses) to sign one of Europe's most sought-after young midfielders. Seven years later, despite some impressive performances, the 29-year-old Dutch international (70 appearances, 2 goals) has failed to fully live up to expectations. Since joining Catalonia, de Jong has spent more time on the injury list. In seven years, the former Ajax player has missed a total of 437 days.
This number will continue to rise.
In mid-July, Catalan media reported that Frenkie de Jong suffered a serious knee injury during the World Cup, and that the cause was related to the Dutch national team's medical staff. De Jong himself confirmed this. He stated that he injured his knee during the World Cup, and after initial examinations, doctors told him the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't worsen as long as he continued playing. For him, the only challenge was playing through the injury, but throughout his career, he would do anything to help his team, whether for club or country. During his break, he returned to Barcelona for further examinations, which revealed the injury was more serious than initially thought. Fortunately, surgery isn't necessary at this stage, and his focus is now entirely on recovery and returning to the pitch as soon as possible.
This new injury is expected to keep De Jong out for four months. The good news for him is that Barcelona subsequently signed World Cup winner Rodri. However, a new tension has reportedly arisen between De Jong and the club, reportedly related to his decision to opt for conservative treatment instead of surgery. De Jong denied this rumor. Subsequently, despite the departures of Marc-André ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo, Flick still did not hand over the captain's armband to him.
Flick has announced that Rafinha will become the team captain. He said he knew De Jong was the third captain last year, but with the departures of Ter Stegen and Araujo, the captaincy order has changed. However, De Jong is currently unavailable, and he has already decided on the captaincy before the team is fully assembled. Flick added that more players may join or leave, so the captaincy vote will have to wait. Currently, Rafinha will be captain, followed by Eric Garcia and Pedri.
According to Sport, this is no small matter. The report states that De Jong's situation has become delicate once again. Catalan fans were cold towards him at his Joan Gamper Trophy unveiling ceremony, a stark contrast to the enthusiastic applause Rodri received. De Jong also looked rather unhappy in the stands.
The sports newspaper *Sport* wrote that it wasn't surprising that he looked dejected sitting in the stands next to players excluded from the squad. The report also mentioned that De Jong sat at the very edge of the team, next to youth team players, dressed casually. This situation had only occurred with João Cancelo before, when he wasn't a formal Barcelona player and couldn't wear the Barcelona jersey. De Jong's expression said it all. The report concluded by saying that this wasn't all. With Deco confirming there would be further moves before the summer transfer window closes, another sign of tension between the two sides could also affect De Jong's future. *Sport* claims that several foreign clubs are already monitoring his situation and may make a move before the transfer window closes. Although De Jong is injured, he remains a valuable and experienced player for many teams. Barcelona is not ruling out letting him leave like captain Araujo.
The Uruguayan defender has been loaned to Liverpool for a year in an effort to regain his form.
For Barcelona, De Jong could also be a similar option, especially since it would free up a significant amount of wage space. The Dutch midfielder earns approximately €20 million per year and has a contract that runs until 2029.
