Frenkie de Jong responds to critics in new position, gets love – ‘We have a lot of affection for him’

Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong is perhaps the most under fire of all their stars this season as he continues to recover from an ankle injury that cost him five months out of action. Amid doubts over his future, De Jong responded with an on-pitch performance during their 5-1 win over RCD Mallorca on Tuesday.

De Jong came on with just 18 minutes to go and immediately made an impression by first scoring and later assisting for Pau Victor. The Dutchman grabbed a loose ball in the penalty area and finished smoothly. It was striking that Pedri, after coming on for Dani Olmo, did not move to the number 10 position as had happened in the past, but that it was the Dutchman who played further forward.

“It was very important to win to regain confidence, it has been very good for us, and although the most important thing is the win, getting 1-5 on a difficult ground like Mallorca gives us confidence to move forward, but it is only one match and there is still a lot to do,” he told Barca One, as quoted by MD.

“I have to be patient with everything that is, I know it is, so I continue to do what I do, work, head down and at some point we will see how it ends,” he noted when asked whether he was happy to get minutes again.

It was noted at the weekend that Raphinha continued to wear the captain's armband on Saturday when De Jong came on, something manager Hansi Flick had no response to on Monday. Raphinha put an end to any sense of controversy.

“Frenkie deserves it immensely, 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 because of his play,” the Brazilian told Sport.

De Jong is out of contract in the summer of 2026 and the latest reports are that Barcelona have withdrawn their contract offer for him in recent weeks, which he had not responded to. The 27-year-old will be put up for sale by Barcelona next summer if they cannot agree a new contract.