The Barcelona star is tired of portraying in the Catalan press. Now he responds forcefully.
Frenkie de Jong has launched a fierce attack on a journalist who claimed that he refused to start against Atlético Madrid in last year’s Champions League.
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De Jong was benched in the quarter-final second leg at the Metropolitano in April. He came on for Gavi in the last nine minutes – but Atlético held off and won 3-2 on aggregate, despite Barca winning 2-1 that night.
Journalist Gerard Romero claimed that the Dutchman himself had chosen not to start the match.
De Jong flatly rejects this – and calls it “fake news”.
– Publishes fake news that hurts me
In a strong statement, De Jong says:
“There’s a lot of noise around me and a lot of fake news. It bothers me, so I want to clear up a few things.
“Publishing so much fake news damages my image. For example, Gerard Romero said that I refused to play against Atlético last season in the Champions League. It’s fake news. That is not true.
“It’s my dream to play for Barça – of course I want to play Champions League games. I don’t understand how he can say that.
De Jong continues:
“People see it and get angry at me. We live in a time where it is more important for many journalists to publish something – than to get something out that is true.
“Then he said that my relationship with the coach is bad. Wrong. I have a very good relationship with Hansi [Flick]. We talk a lot.
“[He said] that my relationship with the club is bad. False again. I talk to a lot of people at the club.
“Gerard Romero has told other lies before. But I’m not going to let it pass anymore. He needs to understand that if he publishes fake news, I’m going to confront him.
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“I’m about the injury”
De Jong is currently out with a partial tear in his meniscus – sustained during the World Cup. According to reports, he prefers rest and rehabilitation, while the club wants to operate.
Some Barca supporters have reacted with irritation and claimed that De Jong prioritized the national team over the club by playing through the injury.
He rejects this:
“I wanted to get all this out of my chest so I can focus on my recovery. I’m really pissed off about the injury. What I love the most is playing football.
“I had a bit of bad luck. An accident during training. Someone fell on me, and I got a small problem with my knee. Tests showed a small problem, but the physiotherapists said I could continue to play through the pain. They assured me that it wouldn’t get any worse.
“Playing in the World Cup is a dream, so I kept playing. I kept in touch with Barça, came back afterwards and did more tests – and then a scan showed that the injury was more serious than when we did tests in the United States.
Barca are chasing Rodri – while De Jong is out for months
De Jong is likely to be out for several months – another setback in an injury-plagued period since joining Catalonia from Ajax in January 2019.
The frequent injuries have made Barcelona look for a replacement. At the top of the wish list: Manchester City’s Rodri.
Barca have had two bids rejected for the Spaniard, but a compromise is likely to be on the way before the transfer window closes on September 1.
The reigning La Liga champions open the season away to Elche on August 23. Before that, friendly matches against Basel and Egyptian team Al Aly await.
