Frenkie De Jong’s Barcelona Future Remains in Doubt After Blaugrana’s Opening La Liga Fixture

Frenkie De Jong’s Barcelona Future Remains in Doubt After Blaugrana’s Opening La Liga Fixture

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:09 PM
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  • Frenkie de Jong was on the substitutes bench for the first half as Barcelona took on Rayo Vallecano
  • Barcelona coach Xavi insists that Frenkie de Jong is important to the club and not a reserve player
  • Barcelona played out to a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano in their opening fixture of the new La Liga season

Frenkie de Jong’s future remains in doubt following Barcelona’s first game of the new La Liga season.

De Jong watched the first half from the bench as Barcelona took on Rayo Vallecano.

Frenkie De Jong, Barcelona, Remains in Doubt, Blaugrana, La Liga, Fixture, Sport, World, Soccer, South Africa
Frenkie De Jong watched the first half of Barcelona's opening game from the bench but Xavi insists that he is still wanted at the club. Image: Eric Alonso
Source: Getty Images

Barcelona started the game with three of their new signings, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Andreas Christensen, but played out to a 0-0 draw with Rayo, ESPN reported.

With de Jong coming on only in the second half, questions have been raised once again about his future at the Spanish club.

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As reported by Manchester Evening News, Barcelona coach Xavi insisted that de Jong is still part of his plans.

"Frenkie de Jong is not a reserve player, I’ve said that several times. He’s an important player for us,” he said.

Xavi added that he wasn’t sure whether de Jong would stay with the club but that he would be important to the side if he did.

Manchester United and Chelsea have both been linked with a move for the Dutch midfielder, but de Jong wants to remain at Barcelona. He has been told to either accept a salary cut to stay with the side or accept a transfer to Manchester United.

The Catalan side have been criticised for their treatment of the player, with some describing it as “a mafia approach” to the situation.

Barcelona fans hurl insults at midfielder Frenkie de Jong, demand he leave Spain or accept a salary cut

Barcelona fans are not happy with Frenkie de Jong.

The player has refused to accept a salary cut and has not agreed to leave the club, leaving many to turn on him now.

Barca fans are tired of waiting for this to happen and took to abusing de Jong when they spotted him outside the club’s training ground.

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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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