De Jong Fan Treatment In Gamper Trophy Could Decide Player’s FC Barcelona Future

SportsMoney De Jong Fan Treatment In Gamper Trophy Could Decide Player’s FC Barcelona Future Tom Sanderson Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. New! Follow this author to improve your content experience. Got it! Aug 7, 2022, 06:07am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Frenkie de Jong could be treated badly by FC Barcelona fans today in the Joan Gamper trophy match.

Getty Images Frenkie de Jong’s treatment by FC Barcelona fans in the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Club Universidad Nacional on Sunday could decide his future at the club. Before the end of a trophyless 2021/2022 season, De Jong became the subject of one of European football’s biggest transfer sagas which has still not been resolved more than three months later. His name continually liked to Manchester United, who are now managed by his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, the 25-year-old looked certain to be heading to Old Trafford as part of a €85mn ($86.

5mn) deal until he refused to switch allegiances. This was mainly due to the Red Devils’ lack of Champions League football, with some reports also overplaying his proximity to Ten Hag from their days together in Amsterdam. In 2018/2019, Ajax went on an unlikely run to the semi-finals of the competition and De Jong was voted its best midfielder.

The playmaker’s exploits in that edition of the tournament were also enough to earn him a €75mn ($76. 4mn) move to the Camp Nou. But the fact that his three-year tenure has yielded just a single piece of silverware, the Copa del Rey, coupled with Barca’s financial predicament mean that a player once deemed ‘untouchable’ and a cornerstone of its future is now on the market.

Chelsea have entered the race for De Jong this week too, meaning that he can no longer use the UCL excuse with Thomas Tuchel’s men also capable of challenging for the Premier PINC League title. MORE FOR YOU WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, News And Notes As Roman Reigns Beats The Demon The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From PSG’s Lionel Messi The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The San Francisco 49ers Yet despite Barca seeming to want him gone so that they can free up space on the wage bill and make an approach for David Silva, De Jong is still adamant on staying in Catalonia and being a part of Xavi Hernandez’s promising sporting project. As suggested by AS on Sunday morning, then, the Joan Gamper trophy match could be what decides the player’s future after all.

If given a frosty reception by the home fans unimpressed by his protests, he could have a change of heart and cave in to Chelsea’s proposal. Should he be well-received, however, as has been the case for the most part of his La Liga tenure, it could further convince him that his current stance is the right one and push him into accepting a hefty salary reduction. Follow me on Twitter .

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