437 days in the treatment room
That is the running total since Barcelona paid Ajax 86M, bonuses included, to win the race for Frenkie de Jong in 2019. Paris Saint-Germain wanted him. Barcelona got him, and celebrated like they had pulled off a coup.
Seven years later nobody is celebrating. The 29-year-old Dutchman, 70 caps and two goals for the Oranje, has spent more than a season’s worth of days unavailable in a Barcelona shirt.
The count keeps climbing. De Jong damaged a knee at the World Cup and is now looking at roughly four months out. He told the story himself: “After the first checks, the doctors told me it was a small injury and it would not get worse if I kept playing. During my holiday, I went back to Barcelona for further tests. Those showed the injury was more serious than had initially been thought.” Surgery is not on the table for now.
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No armband, and a very cold Camp Nou
Hansi Flick sent the first signal. Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo both left, the captaincy opened up, and the German still passed over the man who was third captain last season. “Frenkie is not available and I have decided on the captains in the meantime, until the votes,” Flick said, before naming Raphinha, Eric Garcia and Pedri.
Catalan daily Sport paints something worse. At the Gamper Trophy squad presentation, the crowd reportedly gave de Jong a distinctly frosty welcome while Rodri, the man competing for his position in midfield, got an ovation. The detail that stings: de Jong sat at the end of the row in civilian clothes, surrounded by academy kids.
The Araujo route, with days to spare
Sport reports that several clubs abroad are watching and could act before the window shuts. The template already exists at this club. Araujo spent a year on loan at Liverpool and came back with a career again.
Then there is the wage bill. De Jong takes home around 20M a year on a deal running to 2029, and Barcelona have never once made it through a registration period in La Liga without a scramble. Even a temporary exit would loosen the knot. Deco has said more changes are coming.
Nothing is agreed. Selling a four-month absentee on those wages, even as a loan, is a hard pitch to make to anyone.
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