Frenkie de Jong was waiting on the sidelines at Montjuic, ready to replace Gavi. But when the Spaniard left the field, and De Jong stepped forward to take his place, the applause stopped. Instead, for the second match in a row, De Jong was being booed at his home stadium.
Those boos, and whistles too, came during Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat by Las Palmas on November 30. A few days earlier, at their home game against Brest in the Champions League, the whistles were even louder.
But why? Why would his own fans boo and whistle him? He had given some weak performances in recent weeks, it’s true, but the reason for the hostile reception was much more complicated than simply what he had done on the pitch.
For this piece, The Athletic’s reporters spoke to sources who, unless otherwise noted, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships or because they did not have permission to speak when discussing De Jong’s situation at the club.
Although De Jong has a contract until 2026, the board, faced with a difficult financial situation, have tried to sell him several times. The first time was in the summer of 2022, when he was expected to leave for Manchester United, but the Dutch player wanted to stay in a season when Barcelona ended up winning La Liga.
Then in the summer of 2024, he was among a host of players that the club put up for sale. This time around an ankle injury and, again, the player’s desire to stay at Barcelona meant he continued to wear the Catalan club’s shirt.
Alongside all this, the midfielder’s salary has always been a topic of discussion in the Spanish media. In 2023, after multiple reports speculating about the size of his wages, De Jong decided he wanted to speak up.
“You’re talking a lot about my contract, my salary, that I’m getting €40million,” he said at the press conference ahead of the Champions League last 16 tie in Napoli in February this year. “It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. They’ve made up a story. I’m very happy at Barca, it’s the club of my dreams and I hope to continue playing here for many years.”
De Jong has suffered three injuries to his ankle in recent years. The first time, he missed two months in late 2023, then he was out for most of March this year. When he injured it a third time in the 3-2 Clasico defeat by Real Madrid in April, he was out until October.
De Jong was carried off the pitch at the Bernabeu in April after injuring his ankle (David Ramos/Getty Images)
When he returned, coming on against Young Boys in the Champions League with Barcelona 4-0 up, he was greeted by cheers from the fans.
“I’m very happy for the victory and personally to be back on the pitch, to play football,” he said on Movistar after the match finished 5-0. “The fans applauded me, thank you for that. A happy night. I didn’t expect any of that. You never know, but I’m very happy for the way people are treating me.”
Yet just two months later, the cheers have turned into boos.
Figures in the dressing room told The Athletic that the Dutchman has often been the best performer in training. He has impressed his coaches and his team-mates, who have not hesitated to praise him publicly.
Joao Cancelo told Movistar last season that De Jong “was a great player, one of the best players he had seen in his position”.
“Of the most senior players in the current squad, which one do you admire the most?” a journalist from La Vanguardia asked Gavi in October 2023. Gavi answered, “Frenkie. It’s very noticeable when he’s not there, just like Pedri.”
However, over the past couple of months, since his return, he has not been at his best in matches. So much so that he seems to have lost his place to Marc Casado, who earned the affection of fans with his performances in recent months, and is helped by being from La Masia.
Compare that to De Jong, who was instead signed in 2019 from Ajax for a big fee and with very high expectations that he has never really lived up to. He has been unable to find his place in the Barca system and has never been consistent enough to be the dominant midfielder in Europe he was hoped to be.
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Part of the problem is the €80million fee Barcelona paid for him. Some feel it has never been justified on the pitch, even after five seasons — even in his best season, which was 2022-23, when he played in a double pivot with Sergio Busquets.
De Jong has also not shown the leadership that had been expected and with that has come speculation. De Jong is one of Barcelona’s captains, ahead of Raphinha, but against Las Palmas, when the Dutchman entered the pitch, the Brazilian did not hand over the armband.
“I didn’t notice that detail, it didn’t happen for any particular reason,” Flick said at a press conference ahead of the next match.
De Jong came on to boos from his own fans against Brest (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
After so long out, there is also some doubt about his robustness and physicality on the pitch. It is perhaps not surprising if he is not playing at 100 per cent given his terrible experience with injuries, and the fact his own fans are whistling at him and the club has tried to sell him several times.
Despite local reports suggesting his salary is around €40million, club sources denied that to The Athletic, saying it is lower. He is among the club’s biggest earners, but a significant part of his current salary is deferred from past seasons. When he signed his last renewal in 2021, he agreed that during the first year of his new contract he would earn less than €1million gross. Part of the money De Jong now earns is making up for that deferment.
De Jong may feel that he made a financial effort for the club and was let down by them. The president Joan Laporta’s board of directors wanted to sell the player when they had big offers for him, then when he wanted to stay there was the narrative in the press that he was paid a lot of money.
Despite everything that has happened, De Jong still wants to rebuild himself and prove his worth on the pitch. He wants to stay in Barcelona and so does his family. The club still owes him deferred money and he has a contract until 2026.
They are still open to selling him, though. Firstly, because of his salary and the financial opportunities that a transfer would bring; and secondly, because his position is already well covered by Casado and Marc Bernal, and even Gavi.
Barca presented De Jong with a renewal offer at the beginning of 2024, but have not received a reply and have not entered into talks with the player or his representatives. The Athletic has contacted De Jong’s camp for comment.
Meanwhile, Flick likes De Jong and is happy with what he sees in training. He will be patient and wants to get the best out of him, as he has done with other players in the squad.
De Jong celebrates scoring against Mallorca (Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images)
“De Jong has been through a long injury and took a heavy blow in Belgrade (in the Champions League against Crvena Zvezda last month), very painful, and that has to be managed. Now he needs to get his confidence back,” Flick said a week ago.
“I know it’s very important for him to get minutes, but we analyse every game and the important thing is to win. I want the best possible team and that’s how we make decisions. And that’s why maybe he doesn’t get as many minutes as he would want or as we would want.”
It is difficult to predict what will happen, and whether his relationship with the club can be rebuilt.
A first step towards regaining confidence was the last match against Mallorca. De Jong scored a goal and made an assist, despite not being a starter. All it took was 18 minutes to make him smile again.
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Frenkie de Jong is back for Barcelona. It’s one of those good problems to have
(Top photo by Alex Caparros via Getty Images)
