Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong is arguably the most under fire of any of their stars this season, as he continues to make his way back from an ankle injury that cost him five months out of action. Amid doubts about his future too, de Jong responded with a performance on the pitch on Tuesday during their 5-1 win over RCD Mallorca.
De Jong came on with just 18 minutes to go, and made an instant impact, scoring first and then assisting for Pau Victor late on. The Dutchman latched onto a loose ball in the box, and finished easily. It was notable that after coming on for Dani Olmo, Pedri did not move to the number 10 spot as has happened in the past, but it was the Dutchman that played further forward.
“It was very important to win to regain confidence, it has been very good for us, and although the important thing is the victory, doing 1-5 in a difficult ground like Mallorca gives us confidence to move forward, but it is only one game and there’s a lot to go,” he told Barca One, as quoted by MD.
“I have to be patient with everything there is, I know that’s how it is, so I’m going to continue doing what I do, working, head down and at some point we’ll see how it ends,” he noted when asked if he was happy to be getting minutes again.
Pau Víctor: "My goal in Pamplona was anecdotal. Today we can celebrate it with victory." pic.twitter.com/tUZz85T3qV
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 3, 2024
It was picked up on at the weekend that Raphinha continued to wear the captain’s armband on Saturday when de Jong came on, something manager Hansi Flick did not have a response for on Monday. Raphinha ended any sense of controversy.
“Frenkie very much deserves it, he works hard and helps us both on and off the field. He is one of our captains and we have enormous affection for him. We are very happy for him in the dressing room for his game,” the Brazilian told Sport.
De Jong is out of contract in the summer of 2026, and the most recent reporting is that Barcelona have withdrawn their contract offer for him in recent weeks, one that he had not responded to. The 27-year-old is set to be put up for sale by Barcelona next summer if they cannot agree a new deal.