As Barcelona prepares for their last pre-season game in the United States against AC Milan, one of the players chosen to speak to the club’s official media channels after arriving in Las Vegas was Frenkie de Jong.
The newly appointed captain of the Blaugrana spoke about the captain’s armband, memories from the city, and tomorrow’s opponents, among other topics which have been reported by Mundo Deportivo.
After the departure of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba from the club at the end of last season, it was time to select the new captains to lead the Catalan team heading into the new campaign. Sergi Roberto and Marc-André ter Stegen took the first and second captaincy positions, respectively, while de Jong was picked as the third, and Araújo as the fourth in the captain order.
Speaking about this newfound, prestigious role, de Jong said: “It’s an honor to be one of the captains of this club. I am very happy about this,” added the Dutchman proudly. Although not being part of the captain quartet before, he also captained the team against Real Valladolid at the end of last season, but now will officially be one of the captains of Barcelona.
The 26-year-old midfielder expressed his satisfaction regarding the reception in all the different cities the team has visited during the pre-season tour in the United States, including the passionate culés from the American continent. “The people are very happy to see us here, and we are also happy to be back with them.”
Frenkie also recalled the game the Blaugrana played against Real Madrid in Las Vegas a year ago, which ended with the Catalans’ 1-0 triumph thanks to a thunderous finish from the then-new signing Raphinha. “Last year, we had a spectacular match in Las Vegas. I hope it will be repeated tomorrow.”
Looking forward, the Dutchman spoke about the upcoming opponent of the Azulgrana. “We have trained very hard this pre-season and are prepared for the match against Milan, who is a great team. They reached the semifinals of the Champions League last year,” said Frenkie, recognizing the quality of the opposition while stating the readiness of the Catalans for the upcoming clash.
