21 - Frenkie de Jong

jamrock

Senior Member
It's true that maybe it's a good thing that we see Bernal for a couple of months before we extend Frenkie. We all know Frenkie will get a huge salary, at least the same as he gets now. That could be a problem down the line if Bernal is the real deal, Frenkie looses his starting spot and we'll have a player with top 3 salary on the bench. It could quickly become a problem and we'll again try to force Frenkie out and he won't leave because of his salary and sunny BCN.

I don't think anybody in the club is thinking long term.

That's the situation I'm most "worried" about but that's all assuming bernal will be as good as expected, if he isn't, then renewing him is a good idea.

If he is, like you said we'll have a high earner riding the bench , who has shown he isn't about leaving even when the club ask him to unlike others.
 

TheStig

Member
That's the situation I'm most "worried" about but that's all assuming bernal will be as good as expected, if he isn't, then renewing him is a good idea.

If he is, like you said we'll have a high earner riding the bench , who has shown he isn't about leaving even when the club ask him to unlike others.

That's why we shouldn't hurry. Wait and see the situation with Bernal, Casado and Gavi. FDJ is better than them right now but he's also a lot more expensive. In a year it will maybe make more sense that we invest his salary in other positions.

If that doesn't happen we can still offer Frenkie the same salary as he has now. I don't think he'll have offers with bigger salary from other top clubs.
 

Porque

Senior Member
We can't make decisions based off of if Bernal might be good or not.

The kid didn't even get a minute in pre-season.

Situation with Frenkie seems to be relaxed right now anyways. The old cliche of world cup year so he will be playing his best this season.

Medium term renewal and then we see how LaMasia develops.

If not he goes on a free and we look in the market for someone. Not a huge deal, it's easier to replace Frenkie than Pedri for example. And our system can make use of good hardworking pivots as Casado showed.
 

Horatio

You're welcome
That situation is very common and it will happen more and more often. Ever heard of guys like Mbappe or TAA and many more?
Yes, obviously I expected you to bring up Mbappe and TAA. But I have you covered:

Very fundamental difference with those and Frenkie.

Those mentioned were looking to leave their club for Madrid. For Frenkie there is no other team that is considered “moving up” from Barca.
 
Last edited:

Horatio

You're welcome
Why was it if not those two, when the club and then coach wanted him out?
Cause he’s at club he loves and knew in shortest of time would be back to being starter.

Not looking to collect paycheck sitting on bench in sunny barca a la likes of umtiti.

Frenkie is very key in national team. Especially 2 years ago(mf was dire) Too much hinges on getting minutes or not.
Unlike some other examples.

And I don’t fully believe Xavi wanted him gone btw. Just not trying to burn bridges with Laporta in media. But we will have to wait for book to be written to truly find out.
 
Last edited:

jamrock

Senior Member
He knew soon enough would be starter at club he loves.

Not looking to collect paycheck sitting on bench in sunny barca a la likes of umtiti.

And I don’t fully believe Xavi wanted him gone btw.

That's too much mind reading for me.

Xavi benched him for a old man and teenager and came out pretty wrong about him lacking in areas of his game

He and the club knew selling de jong would free up a lot of FFP for other areas that needed strengthening and that he would he relatively easy to replace, as casado showed 2 years later, zubi or whomever would have done even better.

So it's your belief if we paid him the deferral salary, he would still stay?.
 

jamrock

Senior Member
How long tho after window closed until he became starter?

Not remember exactly but a couple of months, because those comments by Xavi were made during the season while he was on the bench, not in the summer.

He probably started because of the combination of him improving but with constant injuries to dembele Xavi switching to the 4 man Midfield created a space for him, it also helped to give busquets a runner before him.

But in the 433, he doesn't get back in over gavi, busquets, pedri, based on everything we saw.
 

jamrock

Senior Member
I just looked up his minutes and it’s even more than I imagened.

Xavi didn’t even manage to have him sit out one game.

Yea he came on as a sub, our squad was poor, no surprise.

I'm sure he played a lot of minutes, fermin also played a lot of minutes this season, he was still a bench player for the start of the season.

Nice try though.

Not saying he didn't turn it around that same, but he was benched in favor of those 3, in the 433
 

Horatio

You're welcome
Yea he came on as a sub, our squad was poor, no surprise.

I'm sure he played a lot of minutes, fermin also played a lot of minutes this season, he was still a bench player for the start of the season.

Nice try though.

Not saying he didn't turn it around that same, but he was benched in favor of those 3, in the 433
I deleted comment cause didnt know when transfer window closed.

But you talk about mind reading and stuff but what makes me so confident is simply common sense.

A player of Frenkie’s talent simply doesn’t rot on the bench. He likely knows. He sees Gavi at training as well.
 
Last edited:

jamrock

Senior Member
I deleted comment cause didnt know when transfer window closed.

But you talk about mind reading and stuff but what makes me so confident is simply common sense.

A player of Frenkie’s talent simply doesn’t rot on the bench. He likely knows. He sees Gavi at training as well.

Which is why he's never in his entire Barca career sent gavi to the bench lol.

But it happened the other way around, lol.

It took the only system he's good at, a double pivot from Xavi and now flick to save his Barca career.

These are all facts btw, good luck trying to counter facts.
 

JamDav1982

Senior Member
Fact Check:

Frenkie was clearly the starter ahead of Gavi for majority of Xavis first season when played 433.

He started more games under Xavi.. more games in Europe and vs Real away when won 4-0 with Gavi on the bench.

The 22/23 season it was around 4/5 games Frenkie was not the starter.

Barca moved away from 433 for the Atletico game.. prior to that Frenkie had started 10 of the 11 games he was fit for in league and the one he didnt he was just back from injury.

Included in those games was away to Real... where again Frenkie started and Gavi didnt...Xavi must have decided to rest his starters that game.

In the run up to the change of formation it was Gavi that was benched and started 2 of 7 and not one of those at expense of FDJ starting both of those Gavi got games as Busquets was rested and Frenkie went to DM.
 

Home of Barca Fans

Top