January 21, 2022 – Frenkie de Jong did not get off well in the Spanish press after the Copa del Rey elimination of FC Barcelona. The midfielder already had to settle for a role as a substitute and in that capacity could not bring what was expected of him. The media even concluded that his perspective at the club has changed.
It was striking that De Jong had to take a seat on the bench. He fell victim to the return of Pedri, where Gavi and Sergio Busquets were allowed to remain in midfield. ‘De Jong is no longer undisputed under Xavi’, concluded Mark, who also saw him fail badly. “He is far from his best level.”
AS spoke of an ‘unacceptable’ raid by the former Ajax player. “He didn’t come on the field with the right attitude and suffered two dangerous loss of possession, which almost cost Barca two goals against. His spare role seemed to bother him, but he did nothing to prove to Xavi that he had to be indisputable.’
Sports world in Sport were slightly less harsh in their judgment, but were also not convinced of De Jong’s performance. “He managed to pick up the pace on the ball, but gave away dangerous counterattacks,” wrote the former medium, while Sport stated that he “had too little influence on the game”.
