Frenkie de Jong is an exceptional player . He proved that last year with Ajax and the Dutch national team. And at times with Barça, but without much continuity. That's why he was self-critical.
The talented dutchman spoke to Barcelona from his Amsterdam apartment while on quarantine. "I'm satisfied, but not completely; I can do better," he said, while assuming that his best game "is yet to come."
For De Jong, however, not everything on an individual level has been lacking, far from it: "I've played many games and that's not easy in the first year. I've played some good games and I think our best performances were against Dortmund and Inter in the Champions League, but I've also played some very bad games."
The Dutchman misses "going to the trainings, seeing the footballers, playing matches". "I enjoy them. I don't see them. It's hard and difficult to be at home and wait until the moment I say you can come back, but that's all there is to it. I hope we can go back to training soon," he added. While that cannot be, he entertains himself by "playing with the dog".
As for specific questions in the questionnaire, the former Ajax referred to several current colleagues. "Ansu Fati has surprised me with his youth and quality. I didn't know him when he started training with us," he said.
These days he sees "Braithwaite as the most working, he looks like a gym coach". He sees Ter Stegen as capable of "writing a book" about confinement. On Griezmann, said he would be the partner who wouldn't cut his hair or beard, and as for who learns the most skills, he slipped in Pique's name because "he's always doing things."
For De Jong, "Steven Bergwijn" is the rival who has made him suffer the most, something he suffered when it was his turn to "play defense" at Ajax.