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Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has sent an upbeat message to supporters amid ongoing speculation he could be sold by the Catalan giants during the summer transfer window.
The Netherlands international is currently in Australia with the first-team squad for a post-season friendly against the A-League All Stars on Wednesday, May 25 but has taken time out to respond to fans.
De Jong has admitted it’s been another difficult campaign for Barcelona but is looking forward to next season and, perhaps crucially, signs off by highlighting his pride at playing for the club.
“It has been a disappointing season for us,” he wrote on Instagram. “We couldn’t achieve the goals we set at the beginning. But I want to thank the fans for their support this year. We will work hard to do better next season. Proud to be a culé.”
Barcelona coach Xavi has refused to rule out a De Jong exit even though he has made it clear he wants the 25-year-old to stay and continue his career with the Catalan giants, as reported by ESPN.
“For me [De Jong] is a very important player. He’s almost always been a starter, except when I’ve rotated [the team]. He is a fundamental player, but then there is the financial situation of the club,” he said. “Not just with Frenkie, I mean in general. He’s a player I like a lot, but we’ll see how the situation is.”
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Barcelona Have Two Replacements In Mind
Barcelona will look to either Ruben Neves or Martin Zubimendi if De Jong does leave, as reported by ESPN. Neves is contracted to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers until 2024 but has admitted he does not know if he will continue his career at Molineux, as reported by The Athletic.
“The only thing I can tell you at the moment is that everyone knows what football is about, what our lives are about. Our career is really short and we need to take the opportunities we have,” he said. “All of us have dreams and we need to live those dreams in a small space of time. Let’s see what happens, I cannot say too much about it.”
Zubimendi is another option but certainly won’t come cheap. The 23-year-old has a contract at the Basque side until 2025 which contains a release clause set at around €60m.
De Jong Set For Friendly Clash
Meanwhile, Barcelona will take on the A-League All Stars on Wednesday in a final friendly before the players are released for the summer. Xavi is expected to field a strong team and has named a squad of 20 players for the match.
Xavi has also spoken out after arriving in Australia and is looking forward to the one-off game, as reported by Barca TV.
“It’s the first time in our history that Barca has been in this amazing country. I have very good memories of being here and winning the silver medal at the Olympics in 2000. Amazing memories. Hopefully we can enjoy tomorrow together. We have a lot of fans here. Big game tomorrow and hopefully everyone can enjoy. We are very excited to come here and we hope to show our best version.”
Barcelona’s friendly is due to kick off at the Accor Stadium in Sydney at 8:05pm local time (12.05pm CEST, 11.05am BST, 6.05am ET).
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