Frenkie de Jong: Why I Haven’t Renewed My Contract With Barcelona

Frenkie de Jong expressed his disappointment over the limited number of trophies he has won with Barcelona.

He stated that he will only remain at the club if he believes he can continue to make a valuable contribution on the field.

The 27-year-old joined Barça from Ajax in 2019 but has won just three titles since signing one La Liga, a Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Supercopa and has been plagued by ankle problems during the last two seasons.

“Barça was and is my dream club,” De Jong said in an interview with Voetbal International on Thursday. “As a little boy, I wanted to play here. I still enjoy every day at this club, but as in real life, not everything is as ideal as you imagine.”

He has previously rejected offers to leave the club, including a proposal from Manchester United in 2022.

However, he stated that he would consider departing if he felt the club wasn’t meeting the necessary standards.

“People often think I want to stay in Barcelona forever because I live so nicely here alongside football,” he added.

“That is true, but it is secondary to what happens on the pitch.

“If I notice that I can’t show enough here, that I am not contributing, or that I can’t win anything with the team, I wouldn’t be here anymore.

“I am at a crossroads in my career. I still have a year and a half at Barcelona and you read in the newspapers that this is an issue. For me, it is not right now.

“Let me start playing football again first, then we’ll see what the club has planned and then I’ll sit down with my family and [my agent] to decide what I want myself.”

De Jong understands that time is crucial. He returned from his recent ankle injury in October but has only started two games since then and was an unused substitute in Barcelona’s last two matches before the winter break.

“I need time, I know that and the coach knows that,” he said of not making it off the bench in home defeats against first Leganés and then Atlético Madrid, who jumped ahead of Barça at the top of LaLiga.

“If I don’t play in a few weeks, it’s my fault. It has to happen now; that feeling is very strong with me.”