The pillars of FC Barcelona established within the current squad can be argued by many to be one player rather than the other, but there remain a few definitives that ultimately become a universal answer that most would tend to come to an understanding upon.
One of the most prominent pieces among them is a particular Dutch midfielder who also happens to be one of the captains of FC Barcelona.
26-year-old former Ajax midfielder Frenkie De Jong has been an utter revelation under Xavi Hernandez and continues to showcase his rather magisterial abilities again and again without fail.
The game against Villarreal saw the Dutchman provide one of his best performances yet in a Barcelona jersey, not just scoring one goal, but also providing 87 accurate passes with a 94% success rate, making 5 key passes in total, 108 touches of the ball, 67% dribble success rate, making 10 recoveries and even making 2 shot stopping blocks.
Moreover, as highlighted by SPORT, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez talked about his side’s Dutch maestro in his post-match media talk with Moviestar La Liga along with other topics.
Speaking regarding the level being showcased by the 26-year-old, the Barcelona head coach stated that it does not surprise him given that he displayed his potential and technical prowess to an extreme last season as well, stating:
“Frenkie’s level is nothing new. He was already exceptional last season.”
The coach even went on to claim that the player displayed such prowess in certain matches that there seemed to be none better than him to be able to do so:
“He played some matches in which he was the best midfielder in the world.”
The manager even commended certain attributes of the Barcelona midfielder and made the claim that since his arrival at the club in 2019, this has been the best version of the player:
“He has personality, he breaks lines, and he’s happy in that position. This is his best form since he arrived at Barca.”
Frenkie De Jong continues to shine through for the Catalan giants, and now is beginning to develop even more so as a leader following his appointment as one of the four FC Barcelona captains this season. His performances have been consistently exceptional and he even ended up as the official Man of the Match last time around against Cadiz.