Barcelona is facing major challenges in dealing with one of its players who has become a source of concern in the dressing room, due to his continuous decline in performance following repeated injuries, which has significantly affected the team’s level.
In addition, his attitudes and behavior have deepened the differences with the management and technical staff, prompting the club to search for a quick solution to this crisis.
According to information from the Spanish newspaper “El Nacional”, Barcelona is grappling with the situation involving Frenkie de Jong, who has become a source of concern in the dressing room due to several factors.
First, there is his ongoing problem with injuries, which caused him to miss many matches last season and greatly affected his performance, leaving him far from his usual level.
Additionally, his behavior and attitude have not helped improve his situation. Coach Hansi Flick is very disappointed with his lack of professionalism, even though he is no longer a promising young player and is now 27 years old. As a result, the German coach decided to punish him by putting him on the bench, relegating him to a marginal role in the squad.
Joan Laporta and Deco have already lost patience with the player, who has rejected all the contract renewal offers made to him. De Jong is set to become a free agent in 2026, and his goal is to leave Camp Nou without the club receiving any transfer fee, as he seeks to join any team willing to offer him better financial terms.
This plan worries the management, as Laporta does not want to risk losing the player without receiving any financial compensation, and also hopes to reduce the large salary he receives, which is the highest in the team.
The problem facing Barcelona is that there are currently few clubs willing to bet on De Jong. He has lost all the clubs that were previously interested in him, and the club is struggling to raise the required amount of over 60 million euros.
Fortunately, there are some clubs in Saudi Arabia willing to negotiate De Jong’s signing. Clubs like Al Hilal and Al Nassr might be willing to cover the full cost of the operation and offer the player a huge salary, even higher than his current earnings. However, according to recent reports, De Jong does not seem to prefer a move to the Saudi league.
The Dutch player appears determined to continue his career at European clubs, which complicates the situation for Barcelona.