De Jong, footballer under suspicion | Football | Sport

Frenkie de Jong has one last ally left: Hansi Flick. He also still has football, of course, if at some point he manages to wake up in Barcelona.

This Tuesday, ahead of the match with Young Boys (21:00, Movistar Champions League), on the second day of the new Champions League, De Jong will be discharged for health reasons after 177 days, as confirmed by the Barcelona coach. Thus, he overcame his third right ankle injury in the past year. His first sprain, which occurred in September 2023, left him in the hospital for 63 days. It broke down again in March 2024 and he was out for another 35 days. A month later, he forced himself to return as Barça played during the season. It was then that his ankle said enough and a debate began in Ciudad Deportiva: there were those who advised De Jong to have surgery to clear the area, and those who warned him that the best solution was conservative treatment. The Dutchman chose to avoid surgery. However, his head played a cruel joke on him. “He’s fine, but he’s a little afraid of falling again,” they warned on the playground at the start of the season.

The lack of optimism shared by the Barcelona doctors. “Even though he is clinically healthy, he is still in pain. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, you may get injured again. And a new injury in this area could jeopardize your entire career,” they warned. So, at 27, De Jong decided to take care of himself as much as possible. I didn’t want to take any risks. Even though this decision led to his relegation to the team now led by Hansi Flick.

When the German took over at Barça, De Jong’s name came under suspicion. Nothing new for the Dutchman, who carries the burden of one of the highest salaries in the team. And it doesn’t exist simply because. In 2020, during the pandemic, De Jong, Lenglet, Pique and Ter Stegen negotiated their contract extensions without taking into account the rest of their teammates, who were fighting for a decision along with then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu. In this new contract, the media forgave him most of his salary in exchange for recouping it through salary increases in subsequent years until 2026.

“I love Frenkie as a footballer,” Joan Laporta was warned in the sports zone after the lawyer became Barcelona president again in March 2021. “But,” the same sources assured, “what I don’t like are his numbers. We don’t like them on the pitch, he’s not a player who scores a lot of goals or gives a lot of assists; We don’t like them in offices either, they charge a lot of money.” Given this premise, the sporting authorities, led by Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, tried to open the exit door for De Jong. There was no case. The Dutchman wanted to stay in Barcelona.

Deco was replaced by Mateu Alemany, and Frenkie seemed to have regained the confidence of the coaches. A confidence he hasn’t had since Bartomeu paid €86 million in 2019, when the 21st promised to become a vintage midfielder. One of Deco’s first decisions was to meet with the player’s representative from the Netherlands to try to renew his contract. Negotiations came to nothing, while injuries ruined De Jong’s football under Xavi Hernandez. The team’s football also went dark. In fact, it rarely glowed. And Laporta is tired of Xavi betting on Flick.

“Frenkie’s recovery is very good news,” Flick said before hosting Young Boys, a key match for the Blaugrana after losing the Champions League opener against Monaco. The German coach wants to achieve what Valverde, Setien, Koeman and

According to sports sources, Flick sees Frankie as an important player in the double turn. In any case, it so happens that in De Jong’s absence the likes of Casado and a reinvented Eric García have grown, while Pedri is approaching his best self and the recovery of Gavi and Olmo is expected. We are happy when players return. Frankie would do well to return to the team to help the younger players. I don’t know if he will play 45, 20 or 10 minutes,” said Flick, De Jong’s new ally. Barça claims that he is the last, especially since it is unknown what will happen to his contract.