Frenkie De Jong pleased to finally be enjoying a ‘good moment’ after turbulent first year at Barcelona but Dutchman insists ‘I have to show my quality even more’
- Frenkie De Jong says he is enjoying his time at Barcelona after a tough first year
- The Dutch midfielder has three goals in his last six games for the Camp Nou side
- He has become a mainstay under Ronald Koeman but says he can still improve
- The 23-year-old also said he is hopeful Lionel Messi will stay on this summer
Frenkie De Jong has said he is enjoying a ‘good moment’ for Barcelona despite a turbulent start to his career at the Camp Nou.
The Dutch midfielder signed for Barca for an initial £65million fee after impressing for a youthful Ajax side but had a tough first year as the Catalan giants finished the season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years.
But now De Jong is flourishing after becoming a mainstay under coach Ronald Koeman, scoring three goals in Barca’s last six games across all competitions.
Frenkie De Jong (left) has said he is enjoying a ‘good moment’ at Barcelona after a tricky start
The 23-year-old midfielder has scored three goals in his last six games for the Camp Nou side
‘I don’t know if we can say that it is my best moment since I arrived at Barca,’ he told Esport3 in quotes carried by Mundo Deportivo.
‘It’s true that I’m scoring more goals and when people see you score goals it seems like everything is going well.
‘But now I have to maintain it over time, I have to extend this good moment.
‘I feel that I am well and comfortable, but I know that I have to show my quality even more and help the team more. I have room for improvement.’
De Jong also spoke out about the uncertainty surrounding Lionel Messi’s future after Koeman admitted he wasn’t sure the Argentine would stay at the Camp Nou.
Messi pushed to leave Barca last summer before deciding to stay for the last year of his current deal which ends in June, meaning he could leave for free.
Details of the captain’s extraordinary £492m contract were leaked in newspaper El Mundo this week, with the LaLiga giants in an increasingly precarious financial situation.
De Jong (right) said he was hopeful Lionel Messi (left) would stay at Barca beyond the summer
‘I would like Messi to continue with us next year,’ De Jong said.
‘But it is a subject on which I cannot say anything. He has to decide what he wants to do with his future.
‘He has been the best player in the world for 15 years. When I was 12 he was already the best player in the world and he is still the best player in the world.
‘So being able to play alongside him is something very great, just like [Gerard] Pique or [Sergio] Busquets.’
De Jong’s performances this season have provided a welcome distraction from Barca’s off-field problems.
The 23-year-old midfielder has five goals and four assists for the Catalans so far this season and has played all available minutes in their last three games.
Koeman’s men appear to have recovered from a shaky start in LaLiga and are now second, level on points with Real Madrid but 10 points behind Atletico Madrid.
It is off the pitch where they have suffered the most, however, with their financial report for the 2019-20 season revealing a gross debt of €1.2billion (£1bn), with €266m (£235m) owed before the end of June.
