The match against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey will be a good opportunity for FC Barcelona to turn things around with a convincing display. The team is reeling from their 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final, and a win with a big scoreline will be very helpful at this point in time.
While most of the players will be raring to go into this match to prove their critics wrong, there is one player in particular who will be looking forward to playing and putting in a good performance in this match.
This player is the Dutch midfielder, Frenkie de Jong, who, as SPORT has noted, can complete his 200 games with Barcelona if he plays in this match against Unionistas.
The Dutchman signed with Barcelona on 23rd January 2019 from Ajax and cost the Catalan club €75 million in fixed payments and another €11 million in variables.
Ever since his arrival at the club, De Jong has been a fixed starter, despite the changes in management which saw Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien, Ronald Koeman, Sergi Barjuan, and Xavi Hernandez all get on the Barcelona bench.
In addition to the midfield, De Jong has also played in the defense at several points in his Barcelona career, with the latest instance of him being a defender coming in the last game against Real Madrid after Araujo’s expulsion.
In his 199 Barcelona appearances up to now, the midfielder has seen 122 wins (61.3%), 35 draws (17.5%), and 42 defeats (21.1%).
Real Madrid is the team that De Jong has faced the most times in the blue and garnet colors, having gotten five wins, one draw, and eight defeats in the fourteen appearances against them.
Frenkie’s current contract with Barcelona runs till 2026, after he extended his first contract which was to remain in operation till 2024.