Frenkie de Jong – The Barça Grinch

On By Littum

Frenkie de Jong arrived at FC Barcelona to great fanfare in 2019. His signing, after dazzling the football world with Ajax, was heralded as Barcelona’s next midfield maestro. Yet just a few years later, the narrative has changed dramatically. From The Next Big Thing, Frenkie has become a high-paid villain who draws the ire of fans. He has become the Barça Grinch.

  • By Ibrahim Ayyub
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Back in 2019, Frenkie de Jong’s potential was undeniable. His performances in midfield for Ajax showed an excellent ability to dictate play, break lines with precise passing and also carry the ball with grace under pressure. Expectations were sky high for de Jong at club and international level. When FC Barcelona won his signature, his arrival was seen as the successor to Barça legend Sergio Busquets, where he could become a focal point for the team’s return to its glory days. As a long-time Barça fan, I was thrilled that Frenkie would be playing for my beloved Blaugrana.

Action speaks louder than words. Well, Frenkie’s performances on the pitch have been inconsistent over the past few seasons. He has struggled to consistently make his mark on the field, with occasional moments of brilliance, failing to resonate with fans who expected him to impact games. Ultimately, Frenkie hasn’t delivered enough for a player of his caliber.

The excuse of having played under different managers is valid but weak. The argument has been made that he plays out of position, but he failed to impress to replace Busquets, during and after the legendary midfielder’s departure. The fact that two youth academy players, the 17-year-old Marc Bernal and the now 21-year-old Marc Casado, were ahead of him in the pecking order did not help matters. Under current manager Hansi Flick, Frenkie is not considered the starter, even though he is the team’s current captain.

His return from injury started with a superb cameo performance against Real Madrid alongside Marc Casado. However, this sprinkling of magic was soon forgotten after his awful performances, which coincided with Barça’s poor performances that saw them concede their place at the top of the league. A second-half substitute who came on the hour mark away against Real Betis, Frenkie conceded a penalty and was awful for the rest of the game. The final insult was Barça’s big showdown against Atletico Madrid at home ahead of the winter break. Frenkie didn’t start in front of Marc Casado and when Hansi Flick submitted Casado in the 80sth minute in a 1-1; Frenkie remained on the bench, while much-maligned centre-back Eric Garcia got the nod. Barça ended up losing the match 1-2 and Frenkie never got on the field. In fact, he was also not in Barça’s previous game against Leganes, who are fighting for survival.

While Frenkie de Jong can still be considered an important asset for the Oranje, the same cannot be said for his current club. At the moment he is the Barça Grinch. Fans are always looking for a scapegoat or a whipping boy to direct their hatred towards and right now Frenkie is ahead of the pack of the least popular Barça player. Hopefully Frenkie de Jong will return to the promise he once made. After all, if the Grinch was able to redeem himself, then maybe, just maybe, Frenkie’s best days with the Blaugrana are yet to come. If not, perhaps he can redeem himself by finding a new club in January.