FC Barcelona have already traveled to Italy for their Champions League tie against Napoli as the Catalan club plays its first UCL knock-out round match in more than two years. The importance of this match for the Blaugranes cannot be overstated, but Barcelona come into this match facing a lot of adversities.
One of the problems faced by the Barcelona squad heading into this game is the linkage of several of its key players away from the club. Frenkie de Jong is one of the players who has been frequently in the news recently, especially because of his contractual situation, and his increasingly uncertain future with the Catalan club.
Thus, it was only fair that Barcelona allowed the player to face questions in the press conference ahead of this match. The Dutchman addressed questions relating to his future and the upcoming match against Napoli.
As Mundo Deportivo has noted, the Dutchman started his press conference by complaining to the media about some unfounded stories about him:
“The truth is that I am a little annoyed with what you write, people in general. Many things are said that are not true, it is irritating me.”
Continuing to talk at the same tempo, Frenkie clarified that his wages are not as high as reported by the media:
“There is a lot of smoke, a lot of lies, that I am earning 40 million and so on… the truth is that it is far from what I earn. I won’t say figures, but they have invented a story that is not true. I am very happy at Barça, it is the club of my dreams. I hope to continue playing at Barça for many years.”
“I can’t say that, I don’t have information about that. I know that many things are invented, you write things that are not true. You are doing it in general with many players, coaches even. You can’t do that, you are inventing things.”
De Jong also made it clear that he is enjoying his time at Barcelona, and is not too much concerned about the media’s criticism of his performances:
“I consider the club my teammates, the staff, I am enjoying myself a lot. The press sometimes criticizes my level, that doesn’t matter because everyone can have their opinion. But I don’t accept lies.”
The midfielder also talked about his rivals for tomorrow night, and praised them for their quality:
“They are the Champions League champions, they have a lot of quality. It has been a couple of years since we have been in this phase. We are very excited.”
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia was one of the players that Frenkie marked out for his exceptional quality:
“He is a player of great level, he makes a lot of difference. He is a player to take into account for tomorrow. We prepare well for all matches, they are special matches. The coach teaches us everything about the opponent, we are doing it and we will see tomorrow if it works out well.”