Life in football can be highly unpredictable, especially at a big club like FC Barcelona. A number of players who were destined for greatness have seen their fortunes dry up at the Catalan club, while others have arisen from relative obscurity to become some of the best names in the footballing world.
This rollercoaster of fortunes has also been experienced closely by the midfielder Frenkie de Jong, as discussed by SPORT. Only within the last one year, the Dutchman has seen his position at the club change from being on the verge of an exit to becoming one of the captains of the Catalan team.
Frenkie de Jong arrived at FC Barcelona in 2019 after a stellar season with Ajax. Despite having a number of other suitors, the youngster opted for Barcelona, but little did he foresee that the next years at the club would be some of the most barren and uncertain in the club’s recent history.
Since his arrival, the club has had three different coaches, has seen the fall of Josep Maria Bartomeu, has suffered from a deep economic and sporting crisis which was made even worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, seen Lionel Messi leave the club is an inauspicious way. Frenkie also won only one trophy, the Copa del Rey 2020-21, during his first three years at the club.
However, the midfielder had been committed fully to Barcelona, and this was perhaps the most apparent when Manchester United came calling for him last summer. While Barcelona found the proposal attractive, the player himself saw calm coming back to the club with Xavi’s appointment and did not consider the offer to leave the Catalan club.
Last year, the midfielder played an integral part in helping the team win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. He also wore the captain’s armband for one match at the end of the season against Real Valladolid.
Now, Barcelona have finalized their captains for the upcoming season, and Frenkie would be the fourth captain after Sergi Roberto, Marc-André ter Stegen, and Ronald Araujo. Thus, with his commitment to the club, De Jong will now be one of the leaders in the team’s midfield and would fill some of the void left by Sergio Busquets’ departure.
