After a series of impressive matches at the beginning of the season, Hansi Flick's team is showing signs of slowing down as they have continuously stumbled in recent rounds.In the last 5 matches in La Liga, Barca have only won 1, drawn 2 and lost 2.This result has caused Barcelona to gradually be caught up by Real Madrid in the championship race.
However, that is not the only worrying problem for Blaugrana at the moment.According to The Athletic, the current relationship between Frenkie de Jong and Barca is going downhill, as the Dutch midfielder has been constantly booed and whistled by fans in recent matches.
The reason is that De Jong's contract at Barca only lasts until 2026 and the two sides have yet to find common ground. This season, the Dutch midfielder has just returned from injury and is struggling to find his place in the first team. Therefore, the Blaugrana leadership is looking to sell De Jong in the next transfer window to avoid losing this player for free.
In fact, this is not the first time the Catalan club has considered selling the 27-year-old midfielder. In 2022, De Jong was expected to join Manchester United at the invitation of his former coach Erik ten Hag. However, the deal later fell through because the Dutch international insisted on staying at Barcelona. By the summer of 2024, De Jong was once again on the list of many players that Barca would sell. However, an ankle injury was part of the reason why no team had asked to buy this midfielder.
Besides the controversies in failed transfer deals, the Dutch midfielder's salary is always a topic mentioned by the media. Spanish media at that time predicted that 40 million euros was the salary that De Jong received when playing for Barca.
“People are talking a lot about my contract, my salary. They say I get 40 million euros a season. It's a lie. They made up this whole story. I'm very happy at Barca. This has always been my dream team. Hopefully I can continue to contribute here for many more years,” De Jong shared.
According to statistics, in recent seasons, De Jong has suffered 3 ankle injuries, with the most serious one forcing him to miss 6 months of playing and only returning in early November. All 3 times the Dutch midfielder returned from injury, he received applause from the fans. However, in just over a month, the applause has been replaced by whistles and boos from the Cules.
The reason is that since returning from injury, De Jong has not been in his best form. This has caused the 27-year-old midfielder to lose his position to Marc Casado - a young talent from La Masia who has received love from fans with his impressive performance recently.
Looking further, since arriving at Barca in 2019, De Jong has yet to live up to fans’ expectations. The Dutch international has not found his niche role, nor has he shown the stability needed to replace the holding midfielder position left by Sergio Busquets.
According to The Athletic, De Jong is one of the highest paid players in Europe. However, that is the unpaid salary, accumulated from previous seasons. The Dutch midfielder accepted a pay cut to support the team in difficult financial times. However, when the accumulated amount from unpaid salary became too large, Barcelona's board of directors decided to announce De Jong as this midfielder was not considered "irreplaceable".
However, the former Ajax midfielder still wants to regain the Cules' trust with convincing performances on the pitch. De Jong has always expressed his desire to stay in Barcelona because of his family and love for the team.
