Anwar Ibrahim (Cairo)
Dutchman Frenkie de Jong, 25, is not convinced by the rumors that he is the cause of Barcelona’s problems, but by reading between the lines in the Spanish newspapers, it seems as if he is already behind these problems, because many press sources stand once morest him, and consider him responsible in one way or another. The “Catalan” club suffers from problems related to the registration of new players, due to its insistence not to leave, or to agree to reduce his salary, to solve the problem of controlling the “ceiling” of players’ salaries, which may allow solving many of the problems of “Barca”.
Mundo Deportivo reported that De Jong is demanding a significant reduction in his salary this season, as long as he refuses to leave, noting that many believe that it is not just a coincidence that the press provides its readers with stories and anecdotes regarding De Jong’s refusal to reduce his salary.
The newspaper added that the management of the “Catalan” club is putting pressure on De Jong, and even threatened him to resort to the judiciary regarding his current contract, while the player sees that he is a “victim of a smear campaign” organized by the club, and admitted that he notified the International Professional Players Association and the Spanish Federation of Professional Players with his problem with Barcelona.
De Jong insists on his position, despite the pressure exerted on him, to leave or give up a large part of his salary.
The newspaper pointed out that De Jong does not want to budge “one iota”, and intends to stay without changing anything in his current contract.
The newspaper said that the player’s relationship with coach Xavi Hernandez ranged between apathy and natural, but at the same time stressed that if de Jong reached an end to his problem with the “Barca” management and focused only on the field, his real high potential would appear, and he would have mental strength. He managed to shine in Barcelona, as he had never before, because he is already a world-class player.
Manchester United’s desperate attempts over the past few weeks, which aimed to include De Jong in Old Trafford, failed in response to the request of his compatriot Eric Ten Hag, the new coach, who had previously trained him at Ajax Amsterdam before coming to Barcelona. Finally, the “Red Devils” were forced to abandon this deal altogether.
Frenkie de Jong, born on May 12, 1997 (age 25), began his professional career at the “Film 2 Tilburg” club in the 2014-2015 season, then moved to the Ajax youth team, and played for it from 15 to 2017.
And when his star emerged, he was promoted to the first team in 2016, and he played with him until 2019, then he moved to Spain to play for Barcelona, as of July 1, 2019 under a contract worth 75 million euros and for a period of 5 years.
De Jong played for all Dutch youth and youth teams under 15, 18, 19 and 21 years old, and joined the first team in 2018.
