FC Barcelona have been blessed with a number of players who excel in their respective roles and are among the best in the world at what they do. Players like Ilkay Gundogan and Robert Lewandowski have proven themselves to be serial winners and are easily recognized for their excellence on the pitch.
However, there are other players at Barcelona who may not have a list of achievements as big as that of these two but are still growing to become excellent players in their position. Frenkie de Jong is just one of these players.
Felix surprised by Frenkie
While he may not be recognized for his contributions to Barcelona’s game by everyone yet, his teammates are definitely convinced of his excellence on and off the pitch. This is clear from the praise that he has taken from two Barcelona players in particular, Joao Felix and Gavi.
Joao Felix appeared in his first pre-match press conference as a Barcelona player before the Porto clash, and as Mundo Deportivo has noted, one of the highlights of this press conference was the part related to De Jong:
“The player who has surprised me the most is De Jong. I knew Frenkie from watching him on TV, but in person, you have a different perspective on his game and the control he brings to the team.”
Gavi was scared Frenkie will leave
Similarly, as previously reported here, Gavi appeared in a long interview with La Vanguardia yesterday, in which one of the questions he was asked was about the player that he particularly admires in the current squad.
Gavi was quick to mention De Jong as such a player and also recounted his nightmare when De Jong was being pushed away from the club: “At that moment, I was scared, I didn’t want him to leave, and I told him so. Luckily, he didn’t leave, and he’s still with us.”
These two players value Frenkie highly as a part of the squad, and their valuation has been justified by the way the team has struggled since he went out with an injury two weeks ago.
Frenkie’s presence has kept Barcelona from missing Busquets too much, and Xavi, Felix, and Gavi will all be waiting for him to return as soon as possible to help the club display their dominance once again on the pitch.
